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Ruby turns back the Hands of the Clock 


RUBY’S 


UPS AND DOWNS 


^ Sequel to ‘^Eubg anti Ivutjjg'’ 


BY 



MINNIE E.^AULL 

A" 

AUTHOR OF “prince DIMPLE AND HIS EVERY-DAY 
DOINGS,” “ CRIBSIE-BYE TALES,” ETC. 


J'Mv 


iOw3 




I 


ESTES 


BOSTON 
AND LAURIAT 
PUBLISHERS 







Copyright^ 1893, 

By Estes and Lauriat. 



SEntijersits Press: 

John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER page 

I. What Ruby Missed 9 

II. Ruby in Disgrace 19 

III. ' Carpet-Rags 29 

IV. Consequences 39 

V. School 51 

VI. Getting Square 62 

VII. Measles 70 

VIII. Getting Well ......... 81 

IX. Ruby’s Party .... 91 

X. Ruby’s Party (concluded) 101 

XI. Molasses Candy 113 

XII. The Minister’s Tea-Party . . . . 128 

XIII. Orpah’s Uncle ... 142 

XIV. A New Home 152 

XV. Ruby’s Charity 160 

XVI. The Lost Thimble 172 

XVII. Explanations 183 


4 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XVIII. Looking for the Thief 193 

XIX. The Three Dolls 200 

XX. Ruby’s Mistake 210 

XXL Ruby’s Mistake (concluded) .... 223 

XXII. How It Happened 238 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


' PAGE 

Ruby turns back the Hands of the Clock 

Frontispiece 

Ruby and Ruthy making their Peep-shows 9 

Luther teasing Ruby and Ruthy .... 64 

The Bryants at Ruby’s Party 108 

The Minister hears Ruby and Ruthy re- 
cite THE Catechism 131 

Ruby gives the Sunday Dinner to the Gipsy 

Woman 

Orpah Gives Ruby and Ruthy the Dolls . 206 

Ruby tries to spoil Ruthy’s Doll .... 228 



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4 





RUBY’S UPS AND DOWNS. 


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RUBY^S UPS AND DOWNS. 


CHAPTER 1. 

WHAT RUBY MISSED. 

Ruby and Ruthy sat on the back porch at 
Ruby’s house, fixing their peep-shows. All the 
girls had peep-shows just then, and of course 
Ruby and Ruthy were trying to make theirs the 
very prettiest of all. Perhaps I had better tell 
you what a peep-show is, in case your mamma 
has forgotten. 

A peep-show was made of a long cardboard 
box with a little round hole cut in one end for 
a peep-hole, while in the cover at the other end 
of the box a hole was cut to let the light in. 
The girls collected all the pretty little pictures 
that they could find, and pasted them upon 
pieces of stiff paper just the right size to fit the 
end of the box, and then they slipped them in 
one after another, and let some one look in 
through the peep-hole at them. They made a 
little slit in the side of the box so they could 


10 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


slide the pictures in and out without taking the 
cover of the box off. 

The little girl that had the greatest number 
and variety of these pictures thought that she had 
the prettiest peep-show. Most of the girls only 
charged one pin for letting the others look at 
their peep-show; but some of the girls charged 
two pins, and one girl, whose aunt in Boston 
had painted the pictures for her, charged five 
pins, but then every one said that Bella’s peep- 
show was so pretty that it was worth five pins. 

You can be very sure that there were no stray 
pins left lying around the floor when there were 
so many peep-shows about. 

“ Buby ! ” called Mamma from upstairs. 

“ Oh, dear ! ” and Ruby twisted her face up 
into a perfect network of frowns, as she had a 
fashion of doing when she had to stop anything 
in which she was very much interested. 

“ Yes, ma’am,” she answered. 

“ I want you to run down to the store for me,” 
Mamma said. 

“ Oh, Mamma,” exclaimed Ruby, dolefully. 

“ What is the matter, my dear ? ” asked Mamma. 
“ Have you hurt yourself ? ” 

“ Now you ’re just making fun of me,” pouted 
Ruby. “ I am so dreadfully busy just now. 
Mamma, that I don’t see how I can ever pos- 



Ruby and Ruthy making their Reeb-siiows 




WHAT RUBY MISSED. 


11 


sibly stop to go down to the store. Can’t Ann 
go?” 

“ No ; Ann is busy,” Mamma answered. “ And 
even if she were not busy I want you to go. I 
have written down all that I want you to get, 
for there are too many things for you to remem- 
ber ; and I want you to be as quick as you can, 
for I am waiting for the braid.” 

“I wish you would go, Ruthy,” said Ruby, 
stopping to paste another picture before she 
went on her errand. 

Ruthy was very much interested in her work 
too, and just then slie was cutting out a little 
dog with a curly tail that required a great deal 
of care lest it should be cut off altogether with 
a little snip of the scissors. 

It was on the very tip of her tongue to say that 
she did not want to go; but she always did what- 
ever Ruby asked her, even if her little friend was 
apt to be selfish and unreasonable sometimes, and 
so, with a little sigh, she laid her dog down and 
jumped up from the steps. 

‘‘ All right, I will go,” she said cheerfully, 
and running upstairs she said : — 

“ Please, Mrs. Harper, may n’t I go. Ruby 
don’t want to, and I ’d just as lief as not. Do 
let me go instead.” 

Mrs. Harper hesitated, but Ruthy put a pair 


12 ruby’s ups and downs. 

of loving arms about her neck and gave her a 
little coaxing kiss. 

“ Indeed, I would rather go,” she said, and so 
Mrs. Harper gave her the list of errands and 
let her go. 

“Don’t you want to come too. Ruby,” she 
said, as she went past the steps where Ruby 
was sitting. 

Perhaps it was because Ruby felt that she had 
been selfish that she was so cross. 

“Now if you are going to ’spect me to go 
with you, Ruthy Warren, I might just as well go 
myself as not,” she said fretfully. “ You know 
what a hurry I am in to get my pictures fixed, 
and I shouldn’t think you would want me to 
take time to go to the store with you.” 

“ Never mind,” said Ruthy, cheerfully. “ I 
just thought maybe you’d as lief go as not.” 

Ruthy never quarrelled. If Ruby was cross, 
she always tried to make her feel good-natured 
again, and perhaps that was the reason why 
Ruby loved her so much better than any of the 
other girls. 

Ruby did not enjoy her pictures quite as much 
after Ruthy had gone on the errand. She tore 
one of her prettiest pictures in pasting it on, 
and she pinched her fingers with the scissors, 
and at last threw her work aside and made up 


WHAT RUBY MISSED. 


13 


her mind to wait till Ruthy came back before 
she did any more. 

It is n’t any fun to work all alone ; I might 
as well have gone along with Ruthy,” she said 
to herself, as she looked down the road to see 
if Ruthy was in sight. 

It was not a very long walk to the store ; and 
when Ruthy had handed her list to the man to 
be filled, she climbed up on one of the tall stools 
and looked around while she waited. 

She always liked to go to the store ; there 
was such a nice smell to begin with. You could 
hardly have told what it was, for it was such a 
mixture ; but it was pleasant all the same. You 
could smell coffee and molasses and ham, and 
then there was a little whiff of tobacco and ker- 
osene oil, which was not altogether pleasant, or 
would not have been if there had been a little 
more of it, as it was, it was so jumbled up 
with all the other smells that you could hardly 
notice it. Almost as many things were hanging 
from the smoke-browned ceiling as were stowed 
away on the shelves. There were long rows of 
hams and sides of bacon, bunches of brooms, 
kettles and jugs, bunches of dried herbs, which 
were a great convenience to housekeepers who 
had not been thrifty enough to gather and dry 
them for themselves, men’s boots, which looked 


14 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


large enough to have fitted a giant, harness,, 
which sent out a nice leathery smell to add to 
all the other smells, and saws with sharp, shining 
teeth, which Ruthy hoped were fastened up so 
securely that they would not fall on her head. ^ 

One side of the store was pretty well filled up 
with dry goods, of which Mr. Matthews had 
just bought a new supply, and he was looking 
them over and marking prices on them while 
his son was filling Ruthy’s order. 

Ruthy sat on her stool and watched him with 
a great deal of intei'est. “ You must tell your 
mamma I have got a piece of calico here that 
would make you a pretty dress,” said Mr. Mat- 
thews, looking over his spectacles at the little 
girl. ‘‘ Don’t you think it is a pretty pattern ? ” 

“ Yes, sir,” said Ruthy, shyly, as she looked 
at the little rose-buds scattered over the yellow 
ground of the calico. 

Mr. Matthews liked Ruthy. He said that she 
was a well-brought-up child, and knew how to 
show respect to her elders, and he thought that 
a great many other children might do well to 
take pattern by her. As he took up some pieces 
of white cambric, his eye fell upon the trade- 
marks on the end, and he made up his mind to 
give them to Ruthy. He knew very well that 
she would like them, for children often came 


WHAT RUBY MISSED. 


15 


into the store to beg him to save them for their 
peep-shows. One trade-mark was a silver circle 
with a bounding deer in it, just touching the 
edges of the circle by the tips of its beautiful 
antlers and its hoofs. 

Mr. Matthews took out his knife and opened 
it, and slowly and with a great deal of care 
loosened it from the cambric without breaking 
it. He laid it down on the counter without say- 
ing anything, and then took up another piece of 
cambric with an eagle on it. This too he took 
carefully off, and then taking off his spectacles 
he went to a box of raisins and brought out a 
small bunch of raisins and a beautiful picture 
with a little frame of gilt paper around it. 

He put these down on the counter beside the 
other pictures, and then pushed the whole toward 
Ruthy. 

“ Here is something pretty for you,” he said 
kindly. 

Oh, for me ! ” and Ruthy nearly jumped off 
the tall stool in her delight. “ Thank you, sir ; 
you are very kind. Oh, these are such lovely 
pictures ! ” 

“ I thought you would like them,” said Mr. 
Matthews, with a smile. “ I gave them to you 
because you never pester me for things the way 
some of the young ones do. It^s nothing but 


16 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


‘ Can I have this ? Can I have this ? ’ from the 
time they come in till they go out, and I don’t 
like such doings. Your ma has brought you up 
better than that, and you’re a credit to your 
raising.” 

Ruthy blushed at his praise, though she did 
not feel as if she deserved it ; still it did not 
seem as if it would be polite to tell him that he 
was mistaken, so she did not say anything. 

Her things were all wrapped up in a bundle 
by this time, and carefully putting the change 
in the pocket-book which Mrs. Harper had given 
her to carry the money in, she slipped down 
from the high stool and started back with her 
purchases. 

What beautiful pictures he did give me for 
my peep-show,” she thought to herself as she 
ran along. ‘‘ I will give Ruby one of the silver 
ones for her peep-show. I don’t believe any of 
the other girls except Bella have got anything 
as pretty as that. I wonder if Ruby will want 
me to give her the beautiful one that came out 
of tlie raisin-box. I wish I had two of them so 
I could give her one.” 

Generous little Ruthy knew very well that if 
Ruby wanted it she would probably give it to 
her ; but it was so pretty that she did wish she 
could keep it herself for her own peep-show. 


WHAT RUBY MISSED. 


17 


“If she wants it very bad, perhaps we will 
draw lots for it, and then maybe I can keep it 
after all,” she thought. 

Her mamma had always taught her when she 
went on an errand to attend to that first when 
she came home, and then talk about anything 
else that she had seen or heard afterwards ; so 
when Ruthy reached Mrs. Harper’s house, she 
did not even wait to show Ruby the pictures, but 
ran upstairs with her bundle. 

After she had carefully counted out the change 
and found that it was all right, she showed her 
pictures and raisins to Mrs. Harper. 

“ Was n’t it lovely in Mr. Matthews to give me 
such beautiful pictures ? ” she said. 

“ What pictures ? ” cried Ruby, coming into 
the room in time to hear the last words. 

“Why these,” and Ruthy held them up. 
“ And he gave me these raisins too, and I saved 
them to divide with you. I did n’t eat one single 
one of them.” 

“ Oh, did Mr. Matthews give you those beauti- 
ful pictures ? ” exclaimed Ruby. “ I wish I had 
gone. If I had known I would have got those, 
I would have gone instead of letting you go for 
the things. You ought to give me half of them 
anyhow, Ruthy Warren. Yes; you ought to 
give me that biggest one with the gold border, 
2 


18 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


for 3^011 wouldn’t have got them at all if it 
had n’t been that you went on an errand for my 
mamma, and so they belong to me more than 
they do to you anyway.” 

“ Why, Ruby ! ” said her mamma, in shocked 
tones. “ What do you mean ? ” 

“Yes, they are mine. It’s just mean, so it 
is,” exclaimed Ruby, bursting into tears. “ I go 
and go and go to the store for you ever so many 
times, and that mean old Mr. Matthews never 
gives me one single thing ; and then he goes and 
gives such lots of things to Ruthy. She has 
just got to give me half of them, so ; and I ’m 
going to have that one with the border, for it 
belongs to me.” 

Ruthy began to cry too. 

“ I want that one,” she sobbed. “ I was truly 
going to divide all the rest with you. Ruby ; but 
I did want that one for my peep-show so much. 
I ’ll draw lots with you for it, if you like ; but 
deed and trul}" I can’t give it to you when I 
want it so very much myself. I will lend it to 
you half the time, and you can play it is yours 
when it is in your peep-show. Won’t that 
do?” 


CHAPTER II. 


RUBY IN DISGRACE. 

“ I don’t want to divide it ; I want it all my- 
self,” Ruby cried angrily, snatching at the 
picture. 

Ruthy held on to one end of the picture as 
Ruby took hold of the other, and you can im- 
agine what happened. The pretty picture was 
torn in half, and both Ruby and Ruthy began to 
cry louder than ever, as they saw what had been 
done. 

“ Now just see what you have done ! ” Ruby 
exclaimed, quite forgetting that she was the one 
to blame. “ I am just glad your old picture is 
torn. If you would n’t give it to me, you sha’n’t 
have it either. I don’t love you any more, 
Ruthy — ” 

“ Ruby,” said her mamma, taking her by the 
shoulder, and leading her toward the door, 
‘‘ I am surprised and ashamed to think that you 
should be so naughty. I don’t want you to 
speak another word. Go up to the south cham- 


20 


euby’s ups and downs. 


ber, and sit there in the chair till I come up to 
you.” 

Ruby was very angry still ; but when her 
mamma spoke in that tone, she knew that she 
must obey, and so she went slowly up the stairs to 
the finished room in the attic which was always 
called the south chamber. Ruby had been there 
a great many times before for a punishment, 
and she knew the way very well. She walked 
slowly, stamping her feet and making all the 
noise she could, and when she reached the room, 
she shut the door with a hard bang. 

There was only one chair in the room, and it 
was an old-fashioned wooden rocking-chair with 
a very high back. 

Ruby sat down in it with a flounce, and began 
to rock so hard that she nearly tipped herself over. 

“ It ’s mean, so ! ” she said to herself, as the 
tears poured down her cheeks. “ I ought to 
have those pictures because it was my mamma’s 
errand. I don’t love Ruthy one bit, and I never 
mean to speak to her again. Oh, dear, I do 
wish I had gone and got Mamma’s things ! I 
would have gone if I had ever s’posed that I 
would have got such lovely pictures for my peep- 
show. It ’s all Ruthy’s fault that I got sent up 
here, and now I s’pose she ’s glad of it. I won- 
der what she ’s doing. I ’m glad her old picture 


RUBY IN DISGRACE. 


21 


got torn. I wish I had torn it all into little 
teenty weenty bits.” 

Ruby rocked harder and harder as she thought 
how badly she had been treated, and pretty soon 
just what might have been expected, happened. 
The rockers were not very long, and Ruby was 
rocking just as hard as she could, and pushing 
her feet against the wall to make herself rock 
faster, and so the old chair went over back- 
wards, with Ruby in it. She tumbled head over 
heels, and more frightened and surprised than 
hurt jumped up and began dancing up and down 
on the chair, which was not to blame, poor thing, 
for the accident. 

“ Just everything happens to me,” she scolded. 
‘‘ I won’t stand it, so I won’t. I wish I lived 
in another house where somebody cared some- 
thing about me ; I get blamed for everything 
here. If I had been my mamma I would have 
said, ‘ Ruthy, you are a very naughty little girl, 
you can go home and never come here any more 
to play with Ruby.’ My mamma never said any 
such thing though ; she just blamed me for all 
of it. Now stand up straight old chair, or you 
will get tipped over again.” Ruby settled her- 
self in the chair, and rocked more carefully this 
time. Mamma always gave Ruby plenty of time 
to think after she had sent her up to the south 


22 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


chamber, and so the afternoon wore slowly away 
while Ruby sat by the window and rocked and 
rocked. 

By-and-by she rocked more slowly and the 
angry flush in her cheeks faded away. She be- 
gan to see that it was Ruby and not Ruthy who 
had begun the quarrel, and she wished that she 
had not flown into such a passion. 

‘‘ I wish I was made like Ruthy,” she thought 
to herself. “ I can’t help getting mad, and she 
can. Just before I know anything about it I am 
just as mad as I can be, and then I say things, 
and have to come up here to think about it. 
Oh, dear, I don’t like to think about things ! I 
wish Mamma would come up and let me go 
downstairs. I wonder whether Ruthy has gone 
home. 1 wish 1 had n’t torn her picture, for I 
could have had it half the time for my peep- 
show, if 1 had n’t. She said she would give me 
half of the others. I think 1 would rather have 
the one with the deer ; that is the one I will 
choose, I guess, and then she can have the other 
one.” 

Ruby soon became so much interested in 
thinking about her peep-show that she quite 
forgot that she had been sent upstairs for a 
punishment, and that her mamma wanted her to 
think how naughty she had been. In the mean 


EUBY IN DISGRACE. 


23 


time Mrs. Harper tried to mend the torn picture 
and comfort Ruthy. It was very easy to do 
both of these things. By pasting a little strip 
of paper behind the torn edges of the picture, 
Mrs. Harper mended it so neatly that unless you 
looked very carefully you could never have 
noticed that it had been torn at all, and Ruthy 
was so interested in watching it that she forgot 
to cry. ‘‘Now it looks just as good as new, 
don’t it ? ” she said with a smile, as Mrs. Harper 
handed it to her. “ When I put it in my peep- 
show it won’t look a bit as if it had ever been 
torn. Mrs. Harper, I am sorry I was so cross to 
Ruby. May n’t I go upstairs and tell her she 
can come down ; it was just as much my fault 
as hers, anyway.” 

Mrs. Harper kissed the dear little peacemaker. 

“ No, dear ; I want Ruby to stay where she is,’^ 
she said. “ I don’t want you to give Ruby any 
of the pictures now — ” 

“ Oh, please let me give her one of the silver 
ones,” cried Ruthy, with tears coming back to 
her eyes again. 

“ No, not even one of the silver ones,” Mrs. 
Harper answered. “ I am sorry, dear, as sorry 
as you are ; but I want Ruby to learn not to be 
so selfish, so you must keep all the pictures for 
yourself this time.” 


24 


euby’s ups and downs. 


I can leave half of the raisins for her, can’t 
I ? ” Ruthy asked, with her lips quivering with 
disappointment. 

Mrs. Harper smiled. 

‘‘Yes, Ruthy ; if you want to be such a gen- 
erous little girl, you may leave some of your 
raisins.” 

Ruthy carefully divided the raisins, picking 
out the plumpest ones for Ruby ; and then 
gathering up her pictures and her peep-show, 
she bade Mrs. Harper good-by, and went home, 
wishing that she and Ruby had not quarrelled 
and spoiled the happy afternoon that they had 
expected to enjoy together. 

It was not often that the two little friends did 
have a disagreement ; and when they did it gen- 
erally happened that Ruby’s quick temper was 
at fault, for gentle little Ruthy was always will- 
ing to give up her own way. 

Mrs. Harper sighed as she stood in the door- 
way and watched the little pink sunbonnet 
bobbing up and down as Ruthy went down the 
road. She wondered whether she would ever be 
able to teach her little daughter to be generous 
and sweet-tempered ; Ruby would have so much 
to learn before she would be willing to give up 
her own way and let some one else have the 
best of anything. 


1 


RUBY IN DISGRACE. 


26 


Mrs. Harper went slowly upstairs, expecting 
to find Ruby in tears ; but as she opened the 
door, Ruby exclaimed cheerfully, — 

“ Oh, Mamma, would you ever have ’spected 
that I would find a picture for my peep-show up 
here ? Look at this piece of wall-paper that was 
all torn off except one teenty little corner ! 
There ’s the beautifullest rosebud on it ; and just 
as soon as I go downstairs I can cut it out and 
paste it on a piece of paper.’’ 

“I don’t want to see that just now. Ruby,” 
Mamma answered gravely. “ Put it down and 
come and stand here by me while I talk to 
you.” 

Ruby twisted about on one foot. 

‘‘ I don’t want to have you talk to me. Mamma. 
Can’t I go downstairs now ? ” 

“ No, Ruby. Come here at once.” 

Ruby laid her piece of wall-paper down very 
slowly, and came over to Mamma, trying not to 
meet the grave look of displeasure that she knew 
was in Mamma’s eyes. 

“ Ruby, you made me very sorry this afternoon.” 

Ruby hung her head for a moment ; and then 
she suddenly thought of something and began to 
talk very fast. 

“ Mamma, it just was n’t my fault ; you 
oughtn’t to blame me for it, for I couldn’t 


26 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


help it. Don’t you remember what the minister 
said the other Sunday ? I was listening and I 
heard him with my own ears. He said that 
anybody that tempted anybody else to do any- 
thing bad was just exactly as bad, or else he 
said they were hadder, than the one that did the 
bad thing. I don’t just exactly remember, but 
that was what he meant any way. It was 
Euthy’s fault. She knew I would want those 
pictures, and she knew too that she ought n’t to 
have them, because she got them going on an 
errand for you, just as if she was your little girl ; 
so she just ought to have given them to nie right 
away, instead of tempting me to be cross with 
them. 1 think she ought to be ashamed of 
herself, so ! ” 

Ruby felt as if she must surely have convinced 
her mamma that the quarrel was Ruthy’s fault, 
when she had been able to quote from the min- 
ister’s sermon. 

“ Oh, Ruby ! ” her mamma said in grave tones, 
“ is it possible that you want to throw the blame 
for your naughtiness upon dear little Ruthy, 
who loves you so much, and is always willing 
to give up to you ? Who do you think deserved 
the pictures ? The little girl who was not will- 
ing to leave her play to do an errand for her 
mother, or the one who went cheerfully and 


RUBY IN DISGRACE. 


27 


willingly without any thought of reward? An- 
swer me.” 

“ But I wanted them,” Ruby murmured, hang- 
ing her head. 

“ I know you did,” her mamma said. “ But 
because you wanted them, was it right for you 
to claim them as yours, when they were given to 
Ruthy, and to try to take them away from her ? 
Just think what a passion you got into because 
she wanted to keep the picture that was really 
her own ! ” 

“ But I can’t help getting mad. Mamma,” 
Ruby said. “ I get mad before I remember.” 

‘‘ And that is just why I have to punish you 
so often ; so my little girl will learn to remember 
to keep her temper under control,” Mrs. Harper 
said. “ Now to help you remember, I am going 
to make you take an hour of your playtime 
every afternoon for a week to sew carpet-rags.” 

“ Oh, Mamma, please don’t say that ! ” Ruby 
exclaimed. “ I do so hate to sew carpet-rags ! ” 

“ I know you do,” her mamma replied. “ I 
want you to do something that you don’t like, so 
you will not forget about it so easily. If you 
remember every day for a week that you have 
had to lose so much of your playtime because 
you have been naughty to-day, perhaps it will 
keep you from giving way to your temper so 


28 


euby’s ups and downs. 


quickly next time. There is something else, 
too, that you must do ; you must tell Ruthy 
that you are sorry you were so cross to her.” 

Ruby’s face grew red. She was very proud, 
and she did not like the idea of owning herself 
in the wrong even to her loving little friend. 

“ I don’t want to, Mamma,” she said, rolling 
the corner of her apron up into a little ball, and 
putting it into her mouth. 

“ But I want you to,” her mamma answered, 
in the tone that decided matters ; and so Ruby 
promised that she would obey. 

“ I wish I had n’t got mad,” she said, as after 
a little more talk she went downstairs with her. 
“ I do believe it ’s easier to be good than to have 
to make up for being bad.” 

‘‘ When you learn to remember that, Ruby, 
you will save yourself a great many hard times,” 
- Mamma answered, giving her little girl a kiss. 


CHAPTER III. 


CARPET-RAGS. 

Ruby could hardly have had a more severe 
punishment than that of b^ing obliged to sew 
carpet-rags for an hour every day. The first 
day she thought that she would spend as much 
of the hour as she possibly could in looking for 
her little work-basket and thimble and in get- 
ting ready to set to work. She was quite dis- 
mayed when Mamma remarked, “ Now when 
you take the first stitch, Ruby, I will look at 
the clock, and you can sew for an hour from 
that time.” 

‘‘ Oh, Mamma,” cried Ruby, “ are n’t you 
going to count all this time I have been getting 
ready ? ” 

“ No, I shall count from the time you begin 
to sew,” Mamma answered. It was a very long 
hour both to Ruby and Mamma. Mrs. Harper 
was very sorry for her little girl, and would have 
been glad to let her go and play as she begged 
so often to be allowed to do ; but she wanted 
her to remember her punishment, so that she 


30 ruby’s ups and downs. 

would not give way to her temper as soon as she 
should have the next temptation. 

Sewing carpet-rags is not very pleasant work, 
and it seemed to Ruby as if the hour would 
never pass ; but at last the tall clock on the 
stairs struck the hour, and Mamma told Ruby 
she could put her work away. 

The next day Ruby did not lose any time in 
finding her thimble, and she came as soon as her 
mamma called her, so that the hour might be 
over sooner. Ruthy had come and begged to be 
allowed to help her ; but that would have made 
the task too much like play, so Mrs. Harper 
had sent her home until Ruby’s work should 
be done. 

After a little while Mrs. Harper went upstairs, 
and Ruby sat sewing alone on the porch, with 
the big pile of carpet-rags beside her. ‘‘ Oh, 
dear,” she said to herself, “ I pricked my finger ; 
I must stop and put some water on it.” 

Ruby managed to take a good deal of time in 
going around to the rain-water barrel and dip- 
ping her finger in the cool water, and when she 
came back to her work, it was more disagreeable 
than ever. 

“ 1 wish I could just tie the old strips togefiier 
instead of sewing them,” she said. “ 1 am going 
to tie two or three to see how they will look.” 


CARPET-KAGS. 


31 


Ruby knew • how to sew carpet-rags as neatly 
as any little girl of her age, and she knew very 
well that they ought not to be tied ; but after she 
had put her needle down, and begun to tie the 
carefully cut strips together, she did not feel 
like going on with her sewing again. “ I don’t 
believe it will matter if I tie them,” she said, 
though she knew better in her heart all the time 
that she was trying to persuade herself that her 
mamma would not mind their being tied. 

As fast as she tied them, she rolled the ball 
up, and as tying was of course very much quicker 
work than sewing, she soon had a large ball. She 
was quite surprised when she heard Mamma’s 
voice calling to her that she might stop working 
now, for it was an hour since she had begun her 
sewing. 

Ruby gathered the carpet-rags up and had 
them all put away in the big basket in the closet 
in which Mamma kept them. She did not want 
to have Mamma see her work lest she might 
find out how it had been done. 

“ Why, have you put your work away ? ” asked 
Mamma, in tones of pleased surprise a little later 
when she came downstairs and found Ruby play- 
ing with her kitten ‘‘ That is my good indus- 
trious little girl.” 

Ruby’s face grew very red at the praise that 


32 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


she knew she did not deserve ; and she nestled 
her cheeks in kitty’s soft fur, that Mamma might 
not see how hot and flushed they were. 

If Mamma knew why she had put her work 
away, she would not call her a good little girl. 
Ruby wished that she had deserved Mamma’s 
praise, and she almost made up her mind to tell 
her what she had done, but she was afraid that 
perhaps she would have to take her work all out 
and do it over again. 

Very soon Ruthy came, and Ruby forgot all 
about the carpet-rags in play. That night when 
Mamma came upstairs to tuck her up in her 
little white trundle-bed, and give her a good- 
night kiss. Ruby thought about the ball of tied 
carpet-rags again ; but it was very hard work for 
tliis little girl to own up to anything wrong that 
she had done, and so she would not listen to the 
little voice which told her to tell Mamma all 
about it. 

The next day Ruby was playing paper-dolls 
when Mamma said, “ Ruby, I am going up into 
the attic for a while. I want you to begin sew- 
ing just as soon as the clock strikes two, for I 
have a special reason for wanting you to get 
through by three o’clock.” 

“ Yes, ’m,” Ruby answered, fitting Seraphina 
with a new hat. 


CARPET-RAGS. 


33 


‘‘ Don’t forget,” Mamma said. 

“ No, Mamma,” Ruby answered, as she looked 
up at the tall clock in the hall and saw that she 
had twenty minutes yet to play before it should 
be time to begin sewing. 

That morning Mamma had given her some old 
fashion magazines, and Ruby was cutting out all 
the figures in the colored plates, and adding to 
her family of paper-dolls. 

“ I wonder if I can get all these cut out before 
two o’clock,” she thought to herself. “ I do hate 
to stop in the middle of anything, especially to 
sew old carpet-rags. I don’t see what people 
ever want carpet-rags for. When I am grown 
up I don’t mean to have any carpets. I mean 
to have oil-cloth ; and then it won’t be hard 
to sweep, and there won’t be any carpet-rags 
to sew, either. It would be shivery in winter, 
though, if I did n’t liave my shoes on. Oh, dear, 
I don’t believe I am going to get my dolls done 
before that mean old clock strikes two ! I wish 
it would stop ! It did stop once, and then we 
were all late for church.” 

Ruby laughed as she remembered how aston- 
ished her papa had been to find that they were 
late, when they had started in good time by the 
clock. To-day the clock did not seem at all 
inclined to make another such mistake, it ticked 
3 


34 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


on slowly and steadily, and in fifteen minutes 
more Euby knew it would strike two. 

“ Oh, I wish I could make you stop for a little 
while, or push your old hands back,” said Euby, 
looking up at the clock. 

Just then a very naughty idea flashed into 
Euby’s mind. Once when the clock had been 
too fast she had seen Papa push the hands back, 
and it had been a very easy thing to do. No 
one was downstairs, and Euby could do it with- 
out any one knowing about it. She could get 
her little stool and stand up on it, and then she 
would be tall enough to reach the hands of the 
clock ; and she knew that they would push back 
very easily. 

Of course Euby knew it would be wrong, but 
you have already found out that she did a great 
many things that she knew were wrong; and 
now instead of trying to put the idea out of her 
head, she made up her mind to get a little more 
time before she began her sewing, so that she 
could finish her paper-dolls. 

She listened for a moment, but everything was 
silent except the voice of the old clock. Mamma 
and Ann were up in the attic, and Papa had 
gone out into the country. - 

Euby ran and got her little stool, and putting 
it down in front of the clock, reached up and 


CARPET-RAGS. 


35 


opened the door. After she had unlatched it, she 
found that she had to get down and move her 
stool out of the way before the door would open. 
She was so afraid that Mamma would come down- 
stairs and find out what she was doing that she 
trembled with excitement ; but stepping up on 
the stool again, she reached up and gave the 
long hand of the clock a push that made it half 
an hour slow. Then she jumped down and shut 
the door again, and went back to her paper-dolls; 
Somehow all the pleasure was gone, and Ruby 
did not feel the same interest in the pretty 
dresses that she had before she had changed the 
hands of the clock. She had an idea that the 
clock would somehow make itself all right after 
a while, so that no one would know about, her 
naughtiness ; but she almost wished that she had 
left the hands alone. She did not care now 
whether she finished the dolls or not ; and put- 
ting them away, she went and sat down on the 
back porch to wait for the clock to strike two. 

Mamma looked out of the attic-window and 
saw her sitting there. 

Are you sick, dear,’’ she called, wondering 
why Ruby had left her play and was sitting there 
so quietly. Once in a great while Ruby had a 
headache when she had been running about too 
much in the hot sun ; and then she would feel 


36 ruby’s ups and downs. 

like sitting quietly, but at any other time she 
was always busy with her play, and it was a 
very unusual thing for her to sit still, without 
even the kitty to amuse herself with. 

No, ma’am ; I am just waiting for two o’clock 
to come, that ’s all,” Ruby answered, and Mamma 
sighed a little as she went back to her work. 
She knew what a punishment it was to the little 
girl to give up so much of her playtime to a task 
that she disliked so much, and she wished that 
she could excuse her from it ; but Ruby must 
learn in some way to control her hasty temper, 
and perhaps by the time the week was ended the 
remembrance of the carpet-rags would keep her 
from being naughty so soon again. 

Mamma did not know that Ruby’s conscience 
was troubling her for another naughty deed. 

At last two o’clock struck, and Ruby was 
almost glad to hear it, even if she did hot like 
the carpet-rags. Sewing them seemed harder 
work than ever after she had tied them the day 
before ; and she worked as slowly as she could, 
and stopped every now and then to rest and see 
what pussy was doing, instead of keeping steadily 
at her task as she should have done. When she 
heard Mamma coming downstairs she began to 
work in earnest, and Mamma looked out at her 
with a smile of approval. 


CARPET-RAGS. 


37 


“ I see I can trust my little girl to work just 
as faithfully when I am upstairs as when I am 
sitting beside her,” she said, and then she went 
away again. 

Ruby was more uncomfortable than ever after 
that. She wondered what Mamma would have 
said if she could have known all the truth. Cer- 
tainly she would not have said that she had a 
little girl she could trust ; for had n’t Ruby done 
just exactly what she knew her mamma would 
not have been pleased with if she had been there 
to watch her. 

If the old clock could speak, it could tell a 
story about a little girl who could not be trusted ; 
and if any one had unwound that ball of carpet- 
rags, what would they have thought ? 

Ruby was not quite sure, but she almost 
thought that she would rather be scolded when 
she was naughty, than be praised when she did 
not deserve it. Of course she did not like to be 
scolded; but the very worst scolding she had 
ever had in all her life had not made her feel 
as ashamed and unhappy and mean as she felt 
just now. 

She knew that if she would tell Mamma about 
it that the worst part of her unhappy feelings 
would be gone. Of course Mamma would have 
that sorry look in her brown eyes that Ruby 


38 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


could not bear to see there, and she would tell 
her how naughty she had been; but then she 
would kiss her and tell her that she had done 
right in confessing her naughtiness, and after 
that all the ache would go out of Ruby’s heart 
and she would be happy again. Mamma never 
punished her for anything that she confessed 
herself. Would n’t you have thought that poor, 
unhappy little Ruby would have gone straight 
upstairs and told Mamma all about it, instead of 
sitting there feeling as if the sunshine had all 
gone away, and as if she could never be happy 
again ? 


CHAPTER lY. 


CONSEQUENCES. 

It seemed as if the hands of the old clock must 
be stopping to rest they moved around the dial so 
slowly, and it was more like two hours than one 
to Ruby. 

Sometimes she sewed ; sometimes she tied the 
strips together, feeling as if she had been so 
naughty already that it did not make much dif- 
ference now whether she tried to be good or not ; 
and sometimes she just sat and watched the 
clock, wishing she dared give the hands another 
push, and send them on to three o’clock. 

One ! Two ! Three ! 

“ Ruby ! ” called Mamma. “ Come here, dear. 
I have something nice to tell you.” 

Ruby was glad enough to think of something 
besides her naughty doings, and she ran upstairs 
to Mamma as fast as her feet would carry her. 

“ What is it. Mamma ? ” she asked. 

“ You are going to have a little treat this 
afternoon,” Mamma answered. “ Ruthy’s Uncle 


40 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


Hany is going to drive through here on his way 
to Watertown, and he is going to take you and 
Ruthy with him. He has only a little business 
to attend to ; and then he is going to take you 
both to the glass-blowing works, and show you 
how bottles are made. Now you will have plenty 
of time to get dressed and walk down to Ruthy’s 
before it will be time for him to come.” 

“ Oh, goodie. Mamma ! ” Ruby exclaimed, 
jumping up and down, she was so pleased. “ Do 
hurry and help me get ready quick.” 

It was hard work to dress such an impatient 
little girl ; but at last she was all ready in her best 
dress and hat, fairly bubbling over with delight 
at the prospect of the delightful time in store 
for her. No remembrance of her naughtiness 
troubled her just then, and even as she passed 
the tall clock, its ticking did not remind her 
of what she had done. 

“ Don’t run. Ruby,” called Mamma after her ; 
“ it is too warm. You will have plenty of time 
to go slowly, for Ruthy’s uncle said he would 
not stop for you before quarter of four ; but he 
would want you to be ready for him then because 
he could not wait.” 

‘‘ I ’ll go as slow as I can,” Ruby answered, 
and she started off with a smiling face, thinking 
of the nice time she was going to have. Once in 


CONSEQUENCES. 


41 


a while Ruthy’s uncle took the two little girls 
on some trip, and they always had a delightful 
time. Uncle Harry was young, and he did not 
know much about what was good for little girls, 
so he would get them a big box of candy and let 
them eat all that they wanted to at once ; and he 
had such a store of funny stories that they never 
got tired of listening to his talk. 

Ruby had only been to Watertown twice, and 
she was delighted at the idea of going there 
again. It was quite a long drive, nearly sixteen 
miles ; but then Uncle Harry’s fast gray horses 
went over the road so quickly that it only seemed 
a little way.^ 

It was just the day for a drive, and Ruby 
went along with a hop and a skip and a jump, 
she was so happy. 

It did not take her very long to reach Ruthy’s 
house ; and she was sure that she was in plenty 
of time, for there was no sign of Uncle Harry 
yet. 

“ I s’pose Ruthy ’s getting dressed,” she thought 
to herself, as she did not see her little friend 
anywhere about the porch or the yard. As she 
walked up to the house Mrs. Warren came out 
with a surprised look on her face. 

“ Why, Ruby, you poor child ! ” she exclaimed ; 
“what did make you so late? Uncle Harry 


42 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


waited a minute or two for you ; but I knew if 
you were going your mamma would send you in 
plenty of time, and he was in such a hurry that 
he started off with Ruthy half an hour ago.” 

“ Oh, they have n’t gone and left me ! ” 
screamed Ruby. 

It was too dreadful to have happened, and she 
burst into tears and cried and cried until the 
\tears ran down and spotted her new dress. 
Ruby didn’t care. She did not feel as if she 
could ever mind anything again, now that Ruthy 
and Uncle Harry had gone to Watertown without 
her. 

' Mrs. Warren took the little girl in her arms 
and tried to comfort her as she would have com- 
forted Ruthy, but it was of no use. Nothing 
could check Ruby’s tears. 

‘‘ I just feel as if I should die, T am so disap- 
pointed,” she sobbed. 

‘‘How did it happen that you were so late, 
dear?” asked Mrs. Warren, wondering why 
Ruby’s mamma had not had her start in time, 
when she knew the hour. “ I told your mamma 
that Uncle Harry would be here at quarter of 
four.” 

“ Well, I started in plenty of time,” Ruby 
answered, “ and I came right straight here, so I 
don’t see what made nie late. It was twenty-five 


CONSEQUENCES. 


43 


minutes past three, and I certainly did n’t take 
more than ten minutes to come. I never do.” 

“But, my dear child, it is long after four 
o’clock now. I can’t understand it. Your 
clock must be wrong.” 

“ No, ’m, for Papa set it only yesterday,” Ruby 
said, quite forgetting that she had touched 
it. 

“ Well, I can’t understand it; but I am cer- 
tainly very sorry for your disappointment, my 
dear,” said Mrs. Warren. “ Ruthy felt as if she 
had missed half her pleasure in going without 
you. If Uncle Harry had had time he would 
have driven down to see why you had not come ; 
but he was a little late, and felt as if he had not 
a moment to spare or he would miss his appoint- 
ment. I thought that there must surely be some 
reason why you could not go or you would have 
been here, as your mamma knew the time.” 

“ It was all the old carpet-rags that made me 
miss it,” Ruby said. “ If I had only started 
right after dinner I would surely have been here. 
Oh, dear, it is too dreadful for anything ; and I 
did want to see the men make bottles so very 
much ! ” 

“ Perliaps you will have another chance before 
very long,” Mrs. Warren said comfortingly. 

“ But that won’t be this time,” sobbed Ruby. 


44 


kuby’s ups and downs. 


‘‘ And I might just as well have gone this time 
and another time too.” 

Mrs. Warren could not say anything that 
would comfort her ; and after a little rest she 
started home again, crying all the way. 

‘‘ I never had such a miserable day, never ! ” 
she said to herself, as she wiped away the tears. 
“ I believe I ’d rather stay in bed all day than 
have such dreadful things happen to me. I 
think Ruthy might have stayed home too if 
I could n’t go.” 

Ruby knew so well that she would not have 
stayed at home on Ruthy’s account that she 
did not blame her little friend very much in the 
bottom of her heart ; but it was rather a comfort 
to find fault with some one besides herself for 
everything that had gone wrong. 

Mamma was as much astonished as Mrs. 
Warren had been, to see Ruby coming slowly up 
the walk to the house with her face all stained 
with tears. She wondered what could possibly 
have happened that Ruby had not had her antici- 
pated treat. She came to the door to meet her, 
and the little girl threw herself into her mamma’s 
loving arms with a fresh outburst of grief. 

‘‘ Oh, Mamma, Ruthy went without me ! I 
was too late, and they thought I was n’t coming. 
If only you had n’t made me sew carpet-rags I 


CONSEQUENCES. 


45 


might have been in time. I wish I had started 
right after dinner. I never thought I should be 
too late or I would have run all the way. Oh, it 
is so dreadful ! ” 

“ I can’t understand how you could possibly 
have been too late,” Mamma answered, as she 
sat down and took the tearful little girl in her 
lap. “ You started from here in plenty of time. 
Did Ruthy’s uncle start any earlier than he 
had expected?” 

“ No, ’m,” Ruby answered. “ Mrs. Warren said 
he started at quarter of four, and it was long 
after that when I got there.” 

Mrs. Harper looked at the clock with a puzzled 
expression on her face. “ It surely must be 
later than that,” she said. “ The clock must be 
slow, though I do not see how it could have lost 
so much time just since dinner, for it was 
all right by your papa’s watch then.” 

All at once Ruby gave a scream of dismay, 
and hid her face on her mamma’s shoulder. 

“ Oh, Mamma, it was all me ! Oh, I never 
thought about it till just now ; but of course that 
is what is the matter with the clock, and there I 
went and kept my own self from going ! ” 

Ruby, my dear child, what do you mean?” 
asked Mamma in amazement, wondering whether 
her little girl had lost her senses. 


46 ruby’s ups and downs. 

But it was hard to get any answer from Ruby. 
She kept on crying as hard as she could cry, 
sobbing every now and then, “ I kept my own 
self from going. Oh, dear ! Oh, dear ! ” 

Ruby,” said Mamma, very decidedly at last, 
“ unless you stop crying, and tell me what you 
are talking about, I shall put you down and go 
away and leave you till you are quiet. I cannot 
understand what you mean.” 

Ruby checked her sobs enough to explain 
then. 

‘‘ I wanted to finish my paper-dolls before I 
began sewing carpet-rags,” she said with quiver- 
ing lips, “ and it was getting to be two o’clock so 
fast that I thought I would just push the hands 
of the clock back a little and give myself more 
time, and so I got my stool, and opened the 
clock, and pushed the long hand back half an 
hour.” 

“ And so that made you half an hour late in 
getting to Ruthy’s,” Mamma said. “ My poor 
little girl, you have given yourself a great deal 
harder punishment than I would have done. Oh, 
Ruby, when are you going to try to be good, and 
not do every naughty thing that comes into your 
head ? ” 

For once Ruby did not try to excuse herself 
nor throw the blame upon any one else. She was 


CONSEQUENCES. 


47 


really sorry that she had been so naughty as well 
as sorry that she had lost her ride. 

“ Mamma, I do love you, and I ’m just the 
worst girl you ever knew about. Honest, I will 
try to be good. I am badder than you know,” 
and Ruby nestled her head on her mamma’s 
shoulder, and wondered how she could ever be 
naughty when she had such a dear loving mother. 

“What else has my little girl been doing?” 
Mamma asked gently, stroking Ruby’s hair back 
from her tear-stained face. 

“ Oh, I hate to tell you. Mamma. You ’ll just 
be all discouraged with me.” 

Mamma smiled. 

“ Tell me about it, darling. Of course I 
shall be sorry to hear that you have been doing 
anything wrong ; but I shall be glad to know that 
I have a little girl who is brave enough to confess 
when she has been naughty, and I shall believe 
that you really mean to try hard to be good.” 

“ I am going to try to be good,” Ruby answered. 
“ You ’ll see that I truly, honestly mean it. 
Mamma. I do hate to tell you what else I ’ve 
been doing, and yet 1 want to have you 
know.” 

“Well, what is it,” Mamma asked, kissing 
Ruby, to make the confession easier. 

“ I did n’t sew the carpet-rags yesterday, nor 


48 


kuby’s ups and downs. 


more than half the time to-day. I just tied 
them.” 

“ I am so soiTy, dear, but I am so glad you told 
me about it. It would have made me feel a great 
deal worse to have found it out myself by and by 
when I had the carpet-rags made up. What 
shall we do about it, Ruby darling ? ” 

Ruby twisted about uncomfortably. 

“ I know just what I would do if I had a little 
girl like me. Mamma, and she' had done such a 
bad thing ; but I would n’t enjoy it very much.” 

“ What would you do ?” Mamma asked. 

“ I would make her take her playtime ^and 
untie all those dreadful knots, and then sew the 
carpet-rags right, as she ought to do. But I 
would n’t like to do that myself. Mamma.” 

“I know you wouldn’t dear,” Mamma 
answered. “ Because you have told me about it 
yourself,! shall not punish you, but I shall leave it 
to you yourself to decide. If you think you will 
remember not to do such a thing again, I will 
untie the knots and sew the carpet-rags myself ; 
but if you feel as if it would help you to remem- 
ber to do it yourself, I will leave it for you to 
do.” 

Ruby was very still for a few minutes. She 
did not want to lose another moment of her play- 
time over those carpet-rags, and yet she did feel 


CONSEQUENCES. 


49 


as if she ought to undo what she had done 
wrong. She knew she had been naughty, and 
she felt tliat she deserved to be punished. 

‘‘ I guess I will do it myself, Mamma dear,” 
she said with a sigh. “ I will be good maybe if 
I have dreadful times when 1 do wrong. This 
has been the dreadfullest day. I have been just 
miserable all the afternoon, and I missed Water- 
town and everything. Shall I do some carpet- 
rags now. Mamma ? ” 

Mamma cuddled the little girl close up to her, 
and gave her a very tender kiss. 

“ No, darling. You shall help me make some 
cookies for tea, and we will be as happy as we 
can the rest of the day ; and you can work a 
little every day at the knots till they are 
done.” 

Ruby’s heart was lighter than it had been for 
two days, even though she had missed her ride 
to Watertown ; for Mamma knew all about her 
naughtiness and had forgiven her, and she really 
meant to be good now, and not be in disgrace 
any more. Ruby loved to help Mamma make 
cookies ; so when Papa came home a little later 
he found a happy little girl with a big apron on, 
standing by the kitchen-table. 

There was one pleasant thing that happened 
at the close of this unhappy day. Ruthy had 
4 


50 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


not forgotten Ruby, and she brought home for 
her a beautiful little glass ship just like the one 
that Uncle Harry gave her. When Ruby looked 
at it, she remembered the sad consequences that 
her own act had brought upon her, and the 
pleasant trip she had missed by moving the 
hands of the old clock. 


CHAPTER V. 


SCHOOL. 

“ I b’lieve I ’m glad that vacation is over and 
school has begun again,” said Ruby to Ruthy as 
the two trudged along on their way to school 
the first day of September. It was a beautiful 
morning to go to school or to go anywhere, for 
the sky was blue, the birds were singing, and 
there was a pleasant breeze. 

“ I wish we were n’t going to have a new 
teacher,” Ruthy said. “ I hope she will be 
nice.” 

“I know one thing,” said Ruby, decidedly. 
“ There is a new scholar coming that will be 
just horrid. I saw him the other day, and I 
don’t like him one single bit.” 

“ Who is it ? ” asked Ruthy. 

“ His name is Luther Oakes, and he ’s come 
to live with Mr. Dawes. He’s his nephew, I 
heard Papa say. I wish he hadn’t come. I 
was going past tlie house the other day, and he 
was sitting on the gate-post, and he said. 


52 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


‘ Hello, Sissy ! ’ I don’t think it was one bit 
nice in him to say ‘ Hello ’ to me, and I hate 
to be called ‘Sissy,’ anyway.” 

“ I hope he won’t be a tease,” Ruthy answered, 
remembering how one of the scholars who had 
since moved away used to amuse himself by 
teasing the younger children. 

“ I just hope the new teacher will make him 
behave himself,” said Ruby. “ I wish I could 
be the teacher for one day ; I would send him 
home and tell him to stay there till he could 
behave himself.” 

“ I don’t believe the teacher will do that,” said 
Ruthy with a little sigh. “The worse Simon 
Lewis got, the more his mother wanted him to 
go to school. Maybe this boy won’t be as bad 
as he was.” 

“ There he is now,” exclaimed Ruby, as they 
came near the school-house. “ That is the boy 
I mean, sitting on the fence with his cap on the 
back of his head. Let ’s don’t notice him as we 
go past, and perhaps he will let us alone.” 

Ruby’s hope was in vain, however. Luther 
Oakes was one of those boys who can never 
resist the temptation to tease any one younger 
or weaker than himself; and as he saw the two 
little girls coming along, and noticed that they 
seemed anxious to avoid his attention, he at once 


SCHOOL. 


53 


made up his mind to find some way in which to 
tease them. 

He had a little switch in his hand, and as 
the two girls passed him, he leaned forw^'d and 
tickled the back of Ruby’s neck. If she had not 
paid any attention to him, perhaps that is all he 
would have done just then ; but Ruby could not 
stand being teased without resenting it. 

‘‘ Don’t you touch me again,” she said angrily, 
turning back, although Ruthy tried to draw her 
away from him. 

“ Why not ? ” asked Luther teasingly, touch- 
ing her neck again with the tip of the switch. 

“ Because you have n’t any right to touch me,” 
exclaimed Ruby indignantly, snatching at the 
switch. 

‘^Jump for it,” said Luther, holding it just 
above her reach. 

I won’t,” Ruby answered. I don’t want 
your old switch, but I want you to leave me 
alone.” 

“ Oh, Ruby, please come away,” pleaded Ruthy. 

“ Oh, Ruby, please come away,” mimicked 
Luther in an affected voice. 

Ruthy could not endure teasing very well 
either, though she showed her vexation in a 
different way from Ruby; her face grew very 
red, and tears came to her eyes. 


54 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


Is it going to crj, dear little thing ? ” said 
Luther, delighted to see that he was succeeding 
in annoying the little girl. “ Shall I lend it my 
handkerchief to wipe its eyes ? ” 

He drew out a large red handkerchief and 
made a pretence of offering it to Ruthy. 

Ruby snatched it out of his hand, and ran 
toward the school-house as fast as she could, 
determined to keep his handkerchief till the 
noon recess to pay him for his mischief. 

Luther was so surprised at Ruby’s retaliation 
that she had gone some distance before he real- 
ized that she was running away with his hand- 
kerchief ; and by the time he had jumped down 
from the fence and had begun to chase her, she 
had nearly reached the school-house. 

“ Mean old thing ! I will tease him and let 
him see how nice it is,” thought Ruby to herself, 
rushing into the school-house. 

She was going so fast that she never thought 
of looking to see where she was going, and she 
ran into some one with all her might. 

“ Gently, gently, .little girl,” said a strange 
voice, and looking up Ruby saw to her dismay 
that she had nearly knocked the new teacher 
over. 

“ Please excuse me,” panted Ruby. Indeed 
I would n’t have bumped into you for anything if 


SCHOOL. 


55 


I had known you were there ; but I was running 
to get here before that boy did.” 

Before Miss Marlow had time to ask what boy 
she meant, Luther made his appearance as out 
of breath as Ruby was. 

“ Please make her give me back my handker- 
chief,” he said, pointing to Ruby, delighted to 
convey the impression to the new teacher that 
the little girl had been the one at fault. “ She 
ran off with it.” 

Miss Marlow was used to boys, and she had 
been looking out of the window and noticed that 
Luther had stopped the children as they were 
passing, so she was quite sure that Ruby had 
not been the only one to blame, if she had run 
away with Luther’s handkerchief. 

“ Give him back his handkerchief, my dear,” 
she said kindly. “ You should not tease a little 
boy in this way.” 

Luther minded these words more than any- 
thing else that the teacher could have said, and 
colored up to the roots of his hair. 

He put the handkerchief in his pocket without 
a word, and followed the teacher into the school- 
room, quite subdued for once. 

The old scholars kept the same seats that they 
had had the term before, but the new ones had 
seats assigned to them by the teacher. 


56 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


Ruby and Ruthy sat together as they had ever 
since they had first begun to go school ; but they 
were both dismayed when Luther Oakes was 
given the seat behind them. He could make 
it very disagreeable without the teacher seeing 
him, they knew ; and they had always enjoyed 
sitting there so much until now. 

The seat was beside the window, for Ruby 
and Ruthy had both been scholars who could 
be trusted to sit by a window without looking 
out when they should be studying. Ruby was 
very proud of being considered one of the best 
scholars in the school, both in her studies and 
her deportment ; and however naughty she might 
be at home, she always tried to have good marks 
at school. 

Nothing pleased her more than to have her , 
teacher say to Mamma, “Your little daughter 
is so good, Mrs. Harper. She never gives me 
any trouble. I wish all the rest of the scholars 
were as good as she is.’’ And now to think that 
she had run into the new teacher so hard that 
she had nearly knocked her down the very first 
thing ! She was quite sure that the teacher had 
not been angry at her however. There had been 
a very kind look in the gray eyes when she spoke 
to Ruby ; and the little girl determined that her 
new teacher should have reason to think that 


SCHOOL. 


57 


she was well behaved, and not rude and disa- 
greeable like Luther Oakes. 

She was very much afraid that she might not 
always remember to be good if Luther should 
sit behind them. If he should tease her and 
she should get angry, as she would be sure to 
do, then she would very likely say or do some- 
thing that would earn her bad marks before she 
remembered what she was doing. 

“ Oh, dear ! ” she sighed to herself as the bell 
rang for order ; and she knew that Ruthy felt 
just as badly as she did over being so near 
Luther. 

Yery much to their surprise he behaved as 
well as any one else all the morning. He had 
been so much surprised at being called a little 
boy, and hearing a little girl told not to tease 
him, that he hardly knew what to make of it. 
He was pretty sure that the new teacher had 
been making fun of him ; for it was not possible 
that she really thought him a little boy, when he 
was nearly twelve years old, and large for his 
age. 

In his last school the teacher had never 
thought that he was little ; indeed he was quite 
sure that she had considered him one of the 
oldest and most troublesome scholars in the 
school. Strange as it may seem, he was proud 


58 


euby’s ups and downs. 


of this reputation, and liked to be thought a 
tease by all the younger children. 

He expected to behave here just as he had 
always done at home ; but he did not understand 
this teacher yet, and so he was not sure how to 
begin his mischief. 

At recess the teacher went out with the chil- 
dren and watched them at their play, so he did 
not dare to annoy the little girls ; but when the 
bell rang for them all to go back into school, a 
plan came into his mind which he carried out as 
soon as possible. 

Ruby’s white apron had long strings; and 
when she was bending over her geography, 
studying so hard that she forgot all about 
Luther, he leaned forward, and untying them, 
tied them again about the back of the seat so 
when she should try to get up to go to a class 
she would find herself tied fast. 

Ruthy’s strings were too short or he would 
have played the same prank upon her. When 
he had done this, he bent over his book, pretend- 
ing to be very studious. 

“The first class in geography,” called the 
teacher presently, and Ruby as usual started up 
to obey promptly and take her place in the class ; 
but she was jerked back so suddenly that she 
sat down again as quickly as she had started up. 


SCHOOL. 


59 


Her face grew very red, and she almost forgot 
herself and spoke out loud; she remembered 
just in time, however, and shut her mouth tight 
lest the words should slip out after all. 

‘‘ What is the matter ? ” asked Miss Marlow, 
as she glanced over to that part of the school- 
room and saw Ruthy trying to untie the strings, 
which were fastened in a hard knot. 

“ I could n’t get up. My strings were fast- 
ened,” Ruby explained, with a flushed face. 

“ Luther, I wish you would be gallant enough 
to help untie those knots,” said Miss Marlow 
quietly, in such a pleasant way that Luther was 
not sure whether she suspected him of having 
had anything to do with the strings or not. 

When you have untied the strings you may 
bring the apron to me if you please,” Miss Marlow 
went on. 

“ Yes,’m,” Luther answered, wondering what 
she was going to do with the apron, and what 
she would do to him if she found out that he had 
been the one that tied the knots. 

Before he had set Ruby free, he wished over 
and over again that he had not touched her 
apron-strings. He had tied them in a hard 
knot to begin with, and then in her efforts to 
jump up she bad made the knot a great deal 
tighter than it was at first, so it took a good 
deal of patience to undo it. 


60 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


At last the knots were undone, and Luther 
walked up to the desk with the apron in his hand. 

“ Here it is,” he said as he handed it to Miss 
Marlow. 

“ Thank you, Luther,” she said as she took 
it. ‘‘ Now turn around,” and as Luther obeyed 
she tied the apron on him so quickly that he did 
not know what she was going to do until it was 
securely fastened on him. 

“ I don’t want this thing on,” he said, flushing 
a fiery red as all the scholars smiled at the sight 
of a boy with an apron on. 

“ Then it would have been better for you to 
have left it alone in the first place, would it 
not ? ” asked Miss Marlow in the same pleasant 
tones in which she always spoke. 

“ Now you may bring your book and sit here 
by me the rest of the afternoon,” she went on 
and the class in geography waited until Luther 
had gone back to his seat and returned again 
with his book. 

Luther did a great deal of thinking the rest of 
the afternoon. He had always found it very 
pleasant to tease others, and to annoy his teach- 
ers ; but this was the first time that he had had 
any experience of the unpleasantness of ridicule 
himself, and he made up his mind that he did 
not want any more of it. 


SCHOOL. 


61 


He came to the same conclusion that a great 
many other boys who had gone to school to Miss 
Marlow had come, that it was better to obey the 
rules and keep order; for in a very pleasant, 
quiet way, that lady always got the best of it 
when any boy tried to make trouble for her. 


CHAPTER VI. 


GETTING SQUARE. 

Although he had only himself to blame for 
his punishment, Luther was very angry at Ruby. 
He felt as if she had brought his disgrace upon 
him, and he determined to get square with her, 
as he called it ; though he meant to do it out of 
school hours so that he would not get into any 
more trouble with Miss Marlow. 

Both Ruby and Ruthy were delighted with 
their new teacher ; and after school they waited 
for her that they might walk home with her as 
far as their paths lay in the same direction. 
The teacher always boarded around at the dif- 
ferent families in the neighborhood, and both 
Ruby and Ruthy thought that it would be very 
nice to have this pleasant teacher spend two 
weeks with them. 

Luther was very much disappointed when he 
saw the teacher walking with the two girls, for 
he had meant to overtake them and tease them 
in some manner on their way home. He was 
not quite sure yet what he would do, perhaps he 


GETTING SQUARE. 


63 


would hang their school-bags out of reach upon 
the branches of a tree, or he would run away 
with their sunbonnets ; it was always easy 
enough to think of some way to annoy children 
smaller than himself. As he walked along at 
some distance behind the party, he stopped every 
now and then to gather burdocks, which he was 
making into a ball. There were plenty of them 
growing beside the road, and he soon had as 
many as he cared to gather. He was very much 
pleased when he saw the teacher say good-by to 
the girls and turn down another road. In a few 
minutes they would be all alone without any one 
near enough to come to their rescue if they 
called for help. 

He soon overtook them, just as they were 
talking about him. 

“ I am just glad he had to wear my apron all 
the afternoon,” he heard Ruby say. ‘‘ Now 
maybe he won’t be teasing us all the time, when 
he finds that the teacher can tease him too, 
when he don’t behave.” 

“ Oh, you are glad, are you,” he said ; and 
Ruby and Ruthy looked around to find that he 
was close beside them. 

They were both frightened, though they did 
not want to show it. 

“ Yes, I am glad, so ! ” Ruby answered. She 


64 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


would not have said what she did, if she had 
supposed that Luther was within hearing dis- 
tance ; but as long as he had heard her words 
she was not going to take them back. 

“ Perhaps you are glad to see me now,” asked 
Luther, walking in front of the two little girls, 
and dodging backwards and forwards in the 
path so that they could not get past him. “ No, 
don’t be in such a hurry. You have got to wait 
till I am ready to let you go ; and I don’t mean 
to let you until you take back all you said.” 

“ I will never take it back,” retorted Ruby, 
angrily. “ You are a mean, hateful boy, and I 
wish you had not come to our school.” 

“ I am glad I came because you are here,” 
Luther answered teasingly. “You are such a 
pretty girl when you are as red as a turkey-cock, 
and your hair is all blowing about. Let me 
offer you a bouquet. Miss Frizzle-top.” 

He held out the bunch of burdocks toward 
her ; but Ruby tossed them upon the ground. 

“ Please let us go by,” said Ruthy, timidly, 
wishing that some one would come along to 
whom she could appeal for help. She did not 
know what this disagreeable boy would do ; and 
Ruby was so angry that she would only make 
him tease them more instead of letting them go. 

“Oh, won’t you take my bouquet?” Luther 



Ldtpier teasixg Kuhy and Ruthy 



GETTING SQUARE. 


65 


asked. “Well, I will put it where you can’t 
throw it away ; and I hope you will keep it for a 
long time to remember me by.” 

Before Ruby knew what he was going to do, 
he had stepped behind her and had put a great 
bunch of burdocks into her hair. It was not the 
whole of the bunch that he had in his hand ; but 
there were enough of the little prickly things to 
tangle themselves in her hair very thoroughly. 
As Ruby pulled and twitched to get them out, 
she only twisted her hair about them more and 
more, and Luther laughed heartily at her anger. 

“ Oh, I would n’t pull my own hair so hard,” 
he said. “ You had better leave them alone or 
you will make yourself bald-headed, and how 
will you look then ? Here, Sissy, will you have 
some too ? ” he said, and rushing up to Ruthy he 
put the rest in her hair. 

Just then he saw a carriage coming down the 
road, and as both the girls were crying by this 
time, he thought that he had better go away and 
leave them before any one should come who 
would take their part. 

“ Oh, how dreadful this is ! ” cried Ruthy, as 
she tried to take the burdocks out of Ruby’s 
hair, and found tliat it was impossible to free 
them, they were so tangled up. “We won’t 
ever be able to get them out, and how will we 
5 


66 


kuby’s ups and downs. 


look going to school and to church and every- 
where with our hair full of burdocks ? I never 
knew such a dreadful boy in all my life.’’ 

If I was big enough I would fill his hair full 
of burdocks,” exclaimed Ruby, indignantly. ‘‘ I 
wish he had hair a yard long, and I could put a 
bushel of burdocks in it, and wind them all round 
and round so he could never get them out. He ’s 
the meanest boy I ever knew, and I ’m just 
going to tell my papa about him. I don’t want 
to go to school if he is going there too.” 

With tears streaming down their cheeks the 
two little girls trudged home, finding that they 
could not get their burdocks out themselves, and 
wondering what their mothers would do. 

Ruthy reached home first ; and Ruby was very 
glad when she too reached the shelter of her 
mother’s arms. 

She liked school s*o mucli that she had always 
come home happy and smiling, and Mrs. Harper 
could not imagine what had happened when she 
saw the tear-stained face, and heard Ruby’s sobs 
as soon as she entered the house. 

‘‘I’m not at all bad. Mamma,” explained 
Ruby, afraid that her mother would think that she 
had got into disgrace at school. “ I was just as 
good as I could be, and I know the new teacher 
likes me ; but the awfullest boy — Oh, Mamma ! ” 


GETTING SQUARE. 


67 


and Ruby burst into louder sobs than ever. She 
did not need to explain, for the poor little head 
full of burdocks told the story. 

“ My dear little girl,” said her mother, ten- 
derly. “ Now don’t cry any more about it ; but 
sit down and rest a little, and then wash your 
face, and I will try to get some of those burdocks 
out for you. No, dear ; don’t tell me about it till 
after a while,” she said, as Ruby began with 
many sobs to tell Mamma some more about 
“ that dreadfullest boy.” As a general thing 
Ruby was not allowed to bring home stories of 
the doings of the other scholars ; but this was 
something in which Mamma felt that she needed 
sympathy, and by and by when Ruby had stopped 
crying and washed away the tear-stains, she 
told Mamma all about Luther and his pranks. 

How those burdocks did hurt ! Ruby tried to 
be brave; but they were tangled in so tightly 
that it seemed as if even Mamma’s gentle hands 
were taking out her hair as well as the burdocks 
every time she loosened one of the little prickly 
things from its nest in the thick, dark hair. The 
tears would come to Ruby’s eyes every few min- 
utes, in spite of all her efforts ; and more than 
once tears of sympathy came to Mamma’s eyes 
too, she was so sorry for her little girl. 

There was just one pleasant thing about this 


68 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


trouble ; it was not one that Ruby had brought 
upon herself by naughtiness, and so she could 
have Mamma’s sympathy and petting, and that 
was a great help in bearing it. 

‘‘ I don’t believe I can stand having one single 
one more taken out,” she said at last, as Mamma 
worked away at one that was particularly tangled 
up. “ I don’t know but I would rather have my 
hair all cut off than have to be hurt so dread- 
fully. I wonder if Ruthy’s mamma is getting 
her burdocks all out. Oh, wasn’t Luther a 
dreadful boy. Mamma?” 

“I don’t think he realized what an unkind 
thing he was doing,” Mamma answered. ‘‘I 
know he meant to tease you, but I do not think 
he knew how the burdocks would stick in your 
hair, and how very hard it would be to get them 
out. I shall have to cut off a little of your hair ; 
for there is such a large bunch of burdocks in 
one place that even if I could get them all out, 
your hair would be all uneven and knotted where 
they were. I must try to get them all out in 
some way before bedtime, for you could not go 
to sleep with burdocks in your hair.” 

“ They would n’t make a very nice pillow, 
would they ? ” said Ruby. “ It would be as bad 
as that time that Maude put my hair up in 
crimps. Do you remember that time. Mamma ? ” 


GETTING SQUARE. 


69 


“ Yes, dear,” Mamma answered. 

“ And she burned off a piece of my hair in 
front too,” Ruby went on. “ 1 did have dread- 
ful times when Maude was here. She was al- 
ways getting me into scrapes. I am glad Ruthy 
never does dreadful things like Maude used to.” 

“ Yes, I am glad that you have a little friend 
who helps you to be good,” Mamma answered. 
“ Ruthy is a dear little girl, and you could n’t 
have a better friend. Now we will let your 
hair rest till after supper, and tlien I will take 
out the rest of the burdocks before bedtime.” 

Ruby was very glad to wait a little while 
before she had to have her hair pulled any more ; 
for gentle as Mamma tried to be, it was very 
painful to straighten out the snarls that were 
left after the burdocks came out. 

Just then Papa came in ; and Ruby climbed up 
on his knee, and told him all about her troubles, 
and was much comforted by his promise to see 
Luther, and tell him that he must not touch 
Ruby nor Ruthy again while he was in the place. 
It was another comfort to know that he only 
intended to stay till Christmas, and that then he 
was going home again. 

‘‘ I guess we can stand him that long,” said 
Ruby, more hopefully. “ I thought it would be for- 
ever, and that was too dreadful to think about.” 


CHAPTER Vll. 


MEASLES. 

The very next thing that happened to Ruby 
was measles ; but it always seemed a part of her 
trouble with the burdocks. Before Mamma got 
the last burdock out that night, and her hair was 
smoothly brushed and tied up for bed, Ruby had 
quite a cry. It was no wonder, poor little girl, 
for her head was so sore that the least touch 
hurt it, and the pile of burdocks had a great 
many of Ruby’s hairs clinging to them. “ I 
wonder if Ruthy feels as bad as I do,” Ruby 
said, as she kissed Mamma good-night and 
nestled her tired little head into her pillow. 
Ruby dreamed about teasing boys and bunches 
of burdocks all night, and when she woke up 
in the morning she did not feel at all like her 
bright, happy little self. 

She was so quiet after Mamma had called to 
her to get up that Mamma wondered if she had 
gone to sleep again, and looked in at the door to 
see what made her so still. 


MEASLES. 


71 


She saw Buby sitting on the side of her trundle- 
bed with one stocking on and the other one in 
her hand, looking very thoughtful. 

“ What are you doing, dear ? Mamma asked, 
patting Ruby’s flushed cheeks. 

“ Oh, I was just trying to count up how many 
times I have to get dressed every year,” Ruby 
answered. “ It just seems as if I would never 
get dressed this morning ; and I wish I had fur 
like kitty, and did n’t have to take all my clothes 
on and off every day.” 

“ I would n’t stop to think about it if I were 
in your place,” said Mamma, cheerily, kissing her 
little girl. “ You could get all dressed while 
you are counting up. It’s only one day at a 
time, you know, even if there are three hundred 
and sixty-five days in the year.” 

When Mamma had gone downstairs again to 
see about brea“kfast. Ruby gave a little shiver, 
and caught up the kitty, who was rubbing against 
her, and cuddled the soft fur against her neck. 

It ’s cold this morning, pussy,” she said. “ I 
wonder how it feels to live in a muff all the 
time, as you do. I should like it this morning. 
Oh, kitty, I wish I was all dressed as you are ! ” 

Wishing did n’t put any clothes on, though, 
and pretty soon Ruby put the kitty down and 
got dressed. 


72 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


“ I would n’t have thought that having bur- 
docks in one’s hair was such a dreadful thing,” 
she said to herself, as she sat on the floor and 
laced her shoes up. “ It hurts down in my 
throat as well as all over my head, and I don’t 
feel a bit good. I wonder how Ruthy’s head 
feels this morning.” 

Instead of coming to the table as soon as 
breakfast was ready. Ruby sat on the broad, low 
settle with kitty in her lap. 

“ Mamma, I guess I don’t want any breakfast 
this morning,” she said. “ Maybe I will be 
hungry by lunch-time, but my throat feels all 
scratchy, just as if the burdocks were in it. I 
do think that Luther is the very worst boy. I 
never felt so uncomfortable in all my life.” 

Dr. Harper looked at his little daughter’s 
flushed face with some anxiety. 

“ Come here, pussy, and let Papa look at your 
throat and see how many burdocks are there.” 

Ruby smiled as she climbed up on his lap. 

Of course it is n’t burdocks really. Papa, but 
it does feel just so. My head aches so from hav- 
ing my hair pulled with the old prickly things 
that I suppose the ache goes down into my 
throat. Don’t you guess that is it. Papa ? ” 

“ Let me see,” Papa said, and so Ruby opened 
her mouth and let him look down her throat. 


MEASLES. 


73 


‘‘Your throat is sore” he said. “I don’t 
think you had better go to school to-day, girlie. 
If you feel better this afternoon you can go, but 
you can play that you are one of my patients 
this morning.” 

“ Oh, Papa,” and Ruby’s eyes filled with tears, 
“ I could n’t possibly stay home from school the 
very second day ; why, I would n’t ever catch 
up. I never missed one single day all last year, 
and I don’t want the new teacher to think that 
I don’t come regular. Please let me go. Papa.” 

“ Well, we will see how you feel when school- 
time comes,” Papa answered. “ Now see if you 
can’t eat a little breakfast ; for a little girl that 
is well enough to go to school ought to be able 
to eat something.” 

Ruby sat up by the table for a few minutes ; 
but she did not feel like eating, her throat was 
so sore and her head ached. 

“ I guess I ’ll get a little bit rested, and then 
I ’ll feel more like going to school,” she said at 
last, curling up in a little heap on the settle. 
Kitty jumped up beside her and rubbed her soft 
fur against Ruby’s face, purring a comforting 
little tune, but Ruby pushed her away. She did 
not even feel like playing with kitty just now. 

When Mamma got up from the table, she 
threw a shawl over Ruby, and drew the shade 


74 ruby’s ups and downs. 

down so that the bright sunshine should not fall 
in her face. 

“ That ’s nice,” said Ruby, snuggling down in 
a dismal little heap. “ My eyes get all full of 
tears when I don’t want to cry at all ; and I 
guess it ’s because the sun is so bright. I will 
be all right by school-time.” Before it was time 
to start for school she was fast asleep, with 
kitty taking a nap beside her. 

“ I am afraid the child is sick, or is it the 
worry over the burdocks?” asked Mamma, as 
Ruby’s papa came in softly and looked at the 
little girl and touched her hot, red cheeks. 

“ I think it is measles,” he said. “ I will 
be back by the time she wakes up, and I can tell 
better then.” 

Pussy woke up and went out to play with her 
tail in the sunshine, for she was such a little 
kitty that she found it a very delightful play- 
thing, always ready when she wanted a romp ; 
but Ruby slept on until the clock in the hall 
struck eleven. 

“ Oh, Mamma,” she exclaimed, sitting up and 
rubbing her eyes, did I go to sleep the very 
first thing in the morning ? Oh, why did n’t you 
wake me up ? Now I shall be so late for school, 
and I will get bad marks and everything. Oh, 
dear ! ” 


MEASLES. 


75 


“ You won’t get bad marks, dear,” said Mamma, 
comfortingly. ‘‘ Papa said he would stop and 
tell the teacher that you were sick, and that was 
why you could not come this morning. How 
does your head feel now ? ” 

“ It ’s as heavy as if it was all piled up full of 
burdocks,” said Ruby. “ I don’t b’lieve I care 
much if I don’t go to school this morning. 
Mamma, as long as the teacher knows I am sick. 
I don’t feel very much like studying. I guess 
I’ll keep still a little longer.” 

Papa came in pretty soon and took his little 
girl upon his knee. 

“ Well, pussy,” he said, as he cuddled her 
aching head down on his broad shoulder, 
“ how would you like to be sick a little while, 
and have Papa take care of you as he does all 
the other sick little girls and boys?” 

‘‘Will you make my head stop aching?” 
Ruby asked. 

“ It will stop pretty soon, and then you will 
feel more comfortable. You had better ask 
Mamma to put you to bed, and have a nice 
drink of hot milk now,” Papa answered. 

“ What makes me sick ? ” Ruby asked. “ Was 
it because Luther put burdocks in my hair. 
Papa ? ” 

“ No, dear ; perhaps that has helped to make 


76 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


your head ache so badly, but it is because you 
have the measles that you are sick.” 

‘‘Oh, Papa!” and Ruby actually laughed, if 
her head did ache, and her eyes were all full of 
tears that came whether she wanted them or not. 

It had been one of Ruby’s great ambitions to 
be sick with something that had a name and 
was really important. In all her life she had 
never been sick with anything more than a little 
cold or headache, and she had often fancied how 
important she would feel if she could only be 
really quite sick, and have people ask how 
she was, and send her nice little jellies such as 
Mamma often made for Papa’s patients. 

Now she had the measles, and that sounded 
like something very great to the little girl. Papa 
had been afraid that she would be unhappy at the 
prospect of having to stay in the house for a few 
days ; and he was very much surprised to find 
that she was actually pleased at the idea of 
having the measles. 

“ And shall I have to stay in bed, and have 
my breakfasts and dinners and suppers in bed ? ” 
she asked. 

“ Yes, dear,” Papa answered. 

“ Oh, goodie I ” Ruby exclaimed, forgetting all 
her discomforts and pains and aches at the 
prospect. “ I think measles are real nice. Papa.” 


MEASLES. 


77 


“I am glad you are pleased, darling,” Papa 
said with a smile. 

“ Will you tell everybody I have the measles, 
Papa, and will they ask how Ruby is to-day, 
every time they see you?” 

“Yes; I stopped and told the teacher this 
morning that I thought you had the measles, so 
she would know why you did not come to 
school,” Papa replied. 

“Then everybody at school will know it,” 
Ruby said in a pleased tone. “ Has Ruthy 
got the measles too. Papa?” 

“ She has not got them yet ; for I met her this 
morning on her way to school, and she asked 
where you were. She was pretty well, except a 
little head-ache from the burdocks.” 

“ Had her mamma got all the burdocks out ? ” 
asked Ruby. 

“ Yes ; they were all out, and it looked as if 
some of Ruthy’s hair had come out too,” Papa 
answered. “ I told her not to come and see you 
for a few days ; for though I think it likely that 
she will have the measles too, yet if she has not 
taken them, I don’t want to have her take them 
from you.” 

“ I s’pose Ruthy would like to have them too, 
as long as I am going to have them,” Ruby 
answered. “ But I would like to have them all 


78 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


by myself, Papa, so I would rather she would n’t 
come and take any.” 

Papa laughed. 

“Well, you shall be as selfish as you like 
about measles. Ruby,” he said ; “ I don’t believe 
Ruthy will mind letting you have them all to' 
yourself, although I know she would like to come 
and see you. Well, you must go to bed now. 
That is the first thing I do with my patients 
when they have the measles.” 

It was very comfortable to snuggle down in 
her little bed, and be cosily tucked up. 

“ Kitty you must come and have the measles 
too,” Ruby said, as pussy jumped up beside her. 
“ I will leave you a little taste of milk in the 
bottom of the bowl.” 

Kitty was very ready to share the milk, 
whether she wanted to share the measles or not ; 
and when Papa came home at dinner-time, he 
found a very cheerful little patient waiting for 
him. 

“ Are n’t you going to feel my pulse. Papa ? ” 
Ruby asked in disappointed tones, as her papa 
sat down beside her. “You ought to do just 
as you do to other people, for I ’m really sick 
you know.” 

“ Would you like to see the measles?” Papa 
asked. 


MEASLES. 


79 


“ Oh, yes,” Ruby answered, and so Papa took 
down the looking-glass and brought it over for 
her to take a peep at herself. 

“ Why, I ’m all speckled,” said Ruby. “ Is 
that the way measles always look. Papa? It’s 
just as if I had red freckles. Will they always 
stay there, or will they go away ? I would n’t 
like to have measles if I always looked like 
that ! ” 

“ They will go away after a wliile,” Papa 
answered. “ They are coming out very nicely.” 

It took all the comfort of the thought that 
she had the measles to keep Ruby from getting 
rather unhappy by the end of the afternoon. 
Her head still ached, she was tired of warm 
drinks, and if the shade was drawn up the 
sunlight made her eyes water. 

She wanted Ruthy, and began to get tired of 
staying in bed ; but at last Papa brought her 
home a new book, and while Mamma was read- 
ing aloud Ruby forgot all about the measles 
and everything else. 

She quite enjoyed having her supper in bed 
on a little tray. It seemed so grown up to be 
propped against the pillows and eat in bed. 

“ I think when I am grown up and can do just 
as I like, I will have my breakfast in bed every 
morning,” she said. 


80 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


“ You ’ll find that when you are grown up you 
can’t do just as you like always, darling,” 
Mamma said, as she smiled at the little girl’s 
pleasure. “ And 1 think by the time you are 
through with the measles, you will get tired of 
having your meals in bed.” 

Ruby shook her head. She did not think just 
then that she should ever get tired of having the 
measles. 


CHAPTER YITI. 


GETTING WELL. 

Ruby had the measles very lightly ; indeed it 
might have been easier for her to stay in bed if 
she had not felt quite so well. Only one other 
family in the neighborhood had the measles, and 
as of course no one wanted to share them with 
Ruby, it was very lonely for the little girl. 

Strangely enough Ruthy, who had been with 
her every day until she was taken sick, did not 
have the measles, so she would not be allowed 
to come and see her little friend until all dan- 
ger of taking the measles should be past. 

Ruby could not see why her papa took so 
many precautions to keep her from taking cold, 
and she was not very patient after she began to 
feel well enough to want to go back to school. 

Her eyes were weak so she could not use 
them to read or study, and she fretted a good 
deal over the fact that she was getting behind 
the rest of her classes in her lessons. 

Mamma read to her, and played with her, and 
did her best to make the little girl as happy as 
6 


82 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


possible ; but some days it was very hard for 
both Ruby and Mamma. 

Mamma was reading aloud one afternoon, and 
Ruby was listening with a great deal of interest 
to the story, when suddenly she exclaimed, 
‘‘ Oh ! ” in such a despairing voice that Mamma 
could not think what had happened to her. 

“ What is the matter, dear ? ” she asked. 

“ Oh, it ’s my birthday next week, and you 
said I should have a party, you know your own 
self that you promised me one. Mamma, with 
real invitations and a birthday-cake and every- 
thing ; and now nobody will come because every- 
body will be afraid of the measles.” 

Mamma had not forgotten about Ruby and 
the promised birthday-party, and she had been 
wondering a great many times how she should 
be able to make up to the little girl for the dis- 
appointment ; but she had hoped that Ruby her- 
self would not think about it so soon. 

“We will have to postpone it for a few weeks, 
that is all,” she said. 

“ Do what to it ? ” asked Ruby, to whom this 
was a new word. 

“ Put it off for a few weeks till you are able 
to have the children come,” Mamma answered. 
“ Don’t you think that would be just as nice ? ” 

“ Then it would n’t be a birthday-party, if it 


GETTING WELL. 


88 


was on some other day,” fretted Ruby. How 
could I call it my birthday-party, when it was n’t 
my birthday at all ? ” 

You need n’t call it a birthday-party,” her 
mamma suggested. 

“ Well, I want it to be a birthday-party,” 
Ruby wailed. She had felt fretful enough when 
she had not had anything particular to fret 
about, and now that she really felt as if she had 
a grievance, she was going to make the most 
of it. 

I want a birthday-party, and I want it on 
my birthday.” 

“ But, darling, if you can’t have it on your 
birthday, don’t you think it is better to have it 
on some other day, and make the best of it, than 
to fret about it this way ? ” 

‘‘ No,’m, I want to fret,” Ruby answered, and 
she rolled over on the settle with an impatient 
flounce, and tried to cry ; but she could not 
squeeze a single tear out. 

“ Can’t I have a birthday-party. Mamma ? ” 
she asked dismally, spreading out her handker- 
chief so as to have it ready to catch any tears 
that might possibly fall. 

“ Of course I am going to let you have your 
party. Ruby dear,” Mamma answered. “ But 
you know as well as I do that you cannot have 


84 


euby’s ups and downs. 


it just now, when you might give the measles to 
every one. You would not want to do that, I 
am sure.” 

“ Yes,’m, I wQuld,” said Ruby, who was in 
her most contrary mood. “ I had to have the 
measles, and so it would only be fair for every 
one else to have them too.” 

“ Well, even if you do want to give them to 
the other children, I think you would find out 
that they would n’t come and get them,” Mamma 
answered. You will have to wait a little while, 
dear, and then you shall have the party just as 
we planned it.” 

“ Oh, I wish I did n’t have the measles ! ” cried 
Ruby. ‘‘ Nobody else in all the world has such 
dreadful times as I do ; I don’t know a single 
other person that has got the measles but 
me.” 

“ I do,” Mamma answered. 

“ Where ? ” asked Ruby, forgetting to be fret- 
ful in her interest to know who else had had the 
measles. 

“ All the little Bryants have had the measles ; 
and I am sure that they have not had as much 
to make them happy and contented as you have,” 
Mamma replied. 

“ Have they really all had them ? ” Ruby 
asked. “ What a lot of measles it must have 


GETTING WELL. 


85 


taken, Mamma, to speckle seven of them, if they 
were all as speckledy as I was. Did they all 
have them at once ? ” 

“ Yes,” Mamma answered, “ and Mrs. Bryant 
has to go out to work, so that the children 
have to take care of each other while she is 
out.” 

Ruby forgot her disappointment over her birth- 
day-party as she thought about the troubles of 
the little Bryants. She knew them very well. 
They lived a little way down the road in a little 
red house that was so small one could never 
guess where all the little Bryants ate and slept. 
To be sure they generally did their eating out of 
doors ; for whenever you went past the house you 
might see three or four of the youngest Bryants 
swinging on the gate, eating big pieces of bread 
and molasses. At night they must have been 
snuggled up together as coseyly as birds in a 
nest, for it was such a tiny house for so many. 

They had had the measles just when Ruby 
came down with them ; so they were just about 
as far on the road to recovery as she was. 
Ruby’s papa had been to see them every day, 
and they had all come out with measles most 
beautifully, and been speckled all over as plenti- 
fully as Ruby had been ; but they had not 
enjoyed having them any more than Ruby had. 


86 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


It was not very pleasant for seven restless chil- 
dren to be crowded up in such close quarters, 
even if they had all been well, and in their usual 
state of cheery good-humor ; but when they were 
all sick, and each one disposed to be just as fret- 
ful as Ruby was, of course it was very hard for 
them, and for their mother as well. It was a 
loss to her in a way which the children were 
old enough to partly appreciate. She went to 
people’s houses to scrub and clean for them ; 
and of course where people had children they did 
not want to have her come until the children 
were well again, lest their own children should 
get the measles ; and so she had to stay at home 
a great many days when she would have been 
glad to be at work, and really needed the money. 
You had to be very well acquainted with the 
Bryants before you could call them all by name ; 
for there were so many of them, and they were 
all as much alike as little peas in a pod. To 
begin with there was the oldest, Sarah Ann, who 
was fourteen years old, and looked upon herself 
as quite a young woman. She helped her mother 
in many ways as much as if she had been grown 
up, and the children always minded whatever 
Sarah Ann said, just as if she was their 
mother. 

Next came Mary Eliza; she was very small 


GETTING WELL. 


87 


for her age, and was not very strong, so although 
she was good at her books, she was not of as 
much use as Sarah Ann. Next came the big 
twins. There were two sets of twins in the 
Bryant family, and they were generally spoken 
of as the big twins and the little twins. The 
big twins were named Jonathan Edwards and 
David Howard. Their mother thought that 
David and Jonathan were good Bible names and 
appropriate for twins, who would naturally spend 
much of their time together. The minister had 
given them their second names, and he said if 
the twins grew up to be as good as the men 
whose names they bore, he would be very proud 
of having named them. 

The next youngest was a girl, Lucilla, who 
was called Cilly for short. Ruby always thought 
that if she had to be called Cilly, she would get 
angry every time any one spoke her name. 
Cilly was very good-natured, fortunately, and so 
she did not mind when the children at school 
tried to tease her, which was much better than 
getting vexed about it. Then came the little 
twins. They were four years old, and were 
looked upon as the babies of the family, 
although they took care of themselves quite as 
well as the big twins did, and got into more mis- 
chief. One was a girl and the other was a boy, so 


88 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


their mother named them Samuel James and 
Samantha Jemima, which was as near as she 
could come to having the names alike. All the 
rest of tlie family were called by their full names 
ervery time any one spoke to them, or they spoke 
to each other, but the little twins were usually 
called Sam. They were always together, and if 
one was called the other came too ; so you see it 
did not really make the least difference whether 
you meant one or the other when you called 
Sam. 

Ruby was quite proud that she knew all their 
names and ages ; for even people who knew the 
family well got mixed up sometimes when they 
spoke of the children. 

‘‘Just listen how funny it sounds, Mamma, 
when I say all the Bryants’ names over,” she 
said, forgetting all about herself as she thought 
about the Bryants’ measles. 

“ I wish I could have seen them when Sarah 
Ann, Mary Eliza, Jonathan Edwards, David 
Howard, Lucilla Jane, Samuel James, and 
Samantha Jemima, all had the measles,” Ruby 
said, laughing at the long list of names. 
“ They would n’t be afraid to come to a birth- 
day-party if I had one, would they. Mamma ? ” 

“ No, indeed,” Mamma answered. “ I am 
quite sure that they would all be ready to accept 


GETTING WELL. 


89 


your invitation, if they were well enough ; and I 
suppose they would be by your birthday.’^ 

Ruby was quiet for a few minutes ; she was 
thinking. First she thought what a funny party 
it would be to have all Bryants and no one else ; 
next she thought how surprised they would be 
to receive invitations to a birthday-party, when 
they had never been to a party before in their 
lives ; and then she began to think what a nice 
time they would have. “ It must be dreadful to 
be poor, and live in such a little bit of a house, 
and have such funny names, and never go to 
birthday-parties nor have any.” 

For the first time in her life Ruby began to 
realize how many happy times she had which 
all children did not have. She was a little bit 
ashamed of herself as she remembered how fret- 
ful and impatient she had been when Mamma 
had been doing everything to try and pass the 
time pleasantly for her, and how she had grum- 
bled because she could not have everything just 
exactly as she wanted it. 

“ I suppose if the Bryants lived in my house, 
and had my mamma, they would think it was as 
nice times as having a party all the time,” she 
thought. 

Then another thought came into her head, and 
she sat up straight with such a bounce that kitty, 


90 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


who had nestled down for a little nap on her 
shoulder, got a tumble that waked her up very 
suddenly. 

“ Oh, Mamma, I have got such a beautiful 
thought ! ” she exclaimed. 


CHAPTER IX. 


ruby’s party. 

I WONDER if you can guess what Ruby’s beauti- 
ful idea was ? It really was a beautiful idea, for 
it was a plan to give others happiness ; and it was 
not very often that Ruby made such plans. 

“ What is it ? ” asked Mamma, with a smile. 

Ruby always liked to tell Mamma things, be- 
cause she was interested just as much as if 
Ruby’s plans were her own. 

“ Now don’t say ‘ no ’ till you think all about 
it. Mamma,” Ruby began. “ I want to know if 
I can’t have a birthday-party and invite just the 
Bryants. I don’t believe they ever went to a 
party, and so they would have a beautiful time ; 
and as long as they have had the measles and I 
have had them too, we would n’t any of us give 
any one else measles. I think it would be ever 
so nice. I could send them invitations just the 
way I meant to send the other girls invitations, 
and they would be so surprised to get invitations 
to a party ; and then I could have games and a 


92 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


birthday-cake and everything just as I would if 
I had other girls. There are enough Bryants to 
play most any game, and we could have real 
fun.” 

Mamma thought about it for a few minutes 
before she answered. 

“ Do say ‘ yes,’ Mamma,” coaxed Ruby, coming 
and climbing up in Mamma’s lap. 

“ If you did this, would you feel as if it was 
your birthday-party and not want another by and 
by when you got well ? ” asked Mamma. 

‘‘ Why of course I would. Mamma,” Ruby 
answered. “ I would n’t be greedy enough to 
spect two birthday-parties. Of course it would 
be nicer, at least I mean it would be more fun, if 
I was well and could ask all the girls at school, 
and have that kind of a party ; but as long as I 
can’t, I think it would be ever so nice to have a 
party for the Bryants, so they could see what 
fun a party is. Please let me. Mamma.” 

“ I think I can promise you that you can have 
the party if you really want it,” Mamma said. 
‘‘We must wait and talk to Papa about it; but 
I do not think he will object.” 

As soon as Papa came in Ruby began to tell 
him about her plan, and as Mamma had expected, 
he was perfectly willing. 

“ You shall have your party, darling,” he said. 


ruby’s party. 


93 


“ And you and the little Bryants shall have such 
a good time that you will forget that there are 
any such things as measles in the world.” 

“ To-morrow morning, Mamma, will you write 
the invitations ? ” asked Ruby. 

“ Yes, dear,” Mamma answered. 

“ Oh, goodie,” and Ruby’s face looked brighter 
than it liad for some days. 

The next morning when Mamma had time to 
sit down, she got out her writing-desk and took 
out paper and envelopes for the important invi- 
tations. 

Mamma had chocolate, pink, lavender, and 
cream colored paper in her desk, with envelopes 
to match, and it took Ruby some time to decide 
which color she preferred. At last she made up 
her mind that she would have two invitations 
written on chocolate-colored paper, two upon the 
lavender, two upon the pink, and one upon the 
cream-color. Is n’t it pretty paper ? ” Ruby said 
as she laid the different shades side by side and 
admired them. “ Please use violet ink. Mamma, 
for I want these invitations to be just beautiful.” 

Ruby stood so close to her mamma’s elbow to 
watch her, that slie could hardly write. It took 
some time to write the seven invitations, but at 
last they were all finished, and directed to the 
little Bryants. 


94 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


“ It seems dreadful to have a birthday-party 
and not have Ruthy, don’t it?” said Ruby, 
thoughtfully, as she remembered that this was 
the first time that either she or her little friend 
had ever had a pleasure that the other had not 
shared. “I shall be so glad when I can play 
with Ruthy again.” 

“ Ruthy will be glad too, I know,” said 
Mamma as she put her pen away. ‘‘ Now, Ruby, 
shall we ask Papa to take these the next time he 
goes out ? ” 

“ Yes, that will be nice,” Ruby answered, and 
she sealed all the envelopes as carefully as if 
they had been going a long distance by mail. 
It was a rainy day, and the little Bryants were 
all more uncomfortable than usual. They had 
all been quarrelling, and no one felt like being 
the first to make up. Sarah Ann had been very 
much out of sorts because the little twins had 
been so noisy ; and then Cilly had taken their 
part, and told Sarah Ann that she was “ bossy.” 

Of course Sarah Ann was not going to let 
one of the younger children talk to her in that 
way, and she had shaken Cilly for talking back 
to her. Cilly, of course, had resented this ; and 
some of the children had taken Sarah Ann’s 
part, and some had taken Cilly’s part, and the 
quarrel had grown to be so general at last that 


ruby’s party. 


95 


no one knew exactly who was the one to be mad 
at, or who were good friends. 

Sarah Ann had been trying to do a little 
washing, — perhaps that was what had made her 
so cross, poor child, for she was not strong 
enough to do any work, — when the quarrel 
began'. 

The little twins in their tumbling about the 
floor finally pushed over the stool upon which 
the tub of water was standing, and then there 
was a flood, to be sure, all over the kitchen- 
floor. 

Poor Sarah Ann cried, and the twin that she 
slapped cried, and if the doctor had not tapped 
at the door just then and handed in the pile of 
neatly directed envelopes, I do not know what 
would have become of the little Bryants. 

Of course all the quarrelling stopped as soon 
as the doctor made his appearance, and the 
children were so surprised at the sight of such 
a bundle of letters that they forgot to go on 
quarrelling again after he had gone. 

Sarah Ann took up a piece of newspaper and, 
carefully wrapping them up, laid the envelopes 
up on a high shelf over the kitchen-stove. It 
had not occurred to her to look at them to see 
to whom they were addressed ; but Jonathan 
Edwards was more curious. When Sarah Ann 


96 ruby’s ups and downs. 

was busy wiping up the pool of water on the 
floor, and had forgotten to keep her eye upon 
him, he took the broom-stick and pushed the 
bundle of letters down. 

The paper opened as the bundle fell, and the 
letters fluttered all over the floor. 

“ What do you mean, you bad boy ? ” began 
Sarah Ann, indignantly ; but Jonathan Edwards 
had spied his own name upon one of the 
envelopes, and he waved it triumphantly in the 
air. 

“ Well, it ’s mine, and who has a better right to 
it, I should like to know.” 

“ Oh, is there one for me ? ” cried David 
Howard, jumping to find one directed to him. 

“ Here ’s mine ! ” exclaimed Cilly, pouncing 
upon hers with a shriek of delight. ' 

There was a great commotion in the Bryant 
family for the next five minutes, while each one 
tried to find their own letter. 

When this was done, and even the little twins 
each had one of the daintily tinted, carefully 
directed envelopes, they did not know what to 
do next. 

There was a silence for about two minutes, 
then little Samantha Jemima spoke, — 

“ What ’s in mine ? ” 

To be sure, what was in the envelopes ? That 


kuby’s party. 


97 


was a question that had not yet occurred to the 
others, but their curiosity was aroused at once. 

“ Read my letter for me,” said Sam, and her 
twin brother put in a plea that Sarah Ann would 
read his first. 

‘‘ I will read mine first because I am the big- 
gest,” said Sarah Ann, decisively, and opening 
her envelope with the aid of a large pin, she 
read, — 

“ Miss Ruby Harper presents her compliments 
to Miss Sarah Ann Bryant, and desires the pleasure 
of her company upon Wednesday afternoon, the 
twenty-fourth of September, from three to six 
o’clock.’^ 

. What does it mean ? ” inquired Cilly, 
breathlessly. 

Sarah Ann looked wise, but did not answer 
at once. She read the note over again to herself 
before she answered, and then she said, — 

“ It means that it ’s an invitation to a party 
at her house.” 

“Oh, are you going, Sarah Ann?” inquired 
Cilly, breathlessly. 

“I should say I was,” answered Sarah Ann, 
very positively. 

“ But we Ve got the measles,” objected David 
Howard. 


7 


98 ruby's ups and downs. 

“ Well, measles don’t last forever, do they ?” 
demanded Sarah Ann, criishingly. “ Ruby 
Harper has had the measles too, so we can’t 
give them to her ; and we will be well enough 
to go out by that time, all of us.” 

“ Oh, see if I ’m invited ! ” clamored Mary Eliza. 

She could read as well as Sarah Ann, but 
she always deferred to her eldest sister as the 
head of the family, and it seemed more proper 
to ask Sarah Ann to read her letter for her 
than to open it herself. 

“Miss Ruby Harper presents her compliments 
to Miss Mary Eliza Bryant, and desires the pleasure 
of her company upon Wednesday afternoon, the 
twenty-fourth of September, from three to six 
o’clock.” 

“ Oh, I ’m going too,” cried Mary Eliza, in 
delighted tones. 

Then her face fell. 

‘‘ Well, what ’s the matter ? ” asked Sarah Ann, 
with some sharpness. 

“How will we do about our hat? We can’t 
both wear the same hat to the party, and I ’m 
sure I don’t want to stay home if it is your 
turn to wear it.” 

There was but one best hat between Sarah 
Ann and Mary Eliza, and they took turns wear- 


ruby’s party. 


99 


ing it. It fitted both of them, and in fact was 
quite as becoming to one as the other ; and so 
when one went out the other stayed at home, 
and the next time the other sister wore it. 
By this means the same hat answered very well 
for both sisters. 

It had never mattered very much before 
whether they both went out at once or not ; 
but neither of them could give up going to the 
party, of course, just because the other wanted 
to wear their hat. 

Sarah Ann looked troubled for a moment, 
then her face cleared up, and she said, — 

“Oh, I forgot, people don’t wear hats to a 
party. We will take them off as soon as we 
get there, so it don’t matter what we wear on 
our head^ to get there. You can wear your old 
hat.” 

“ If it don’t matter, then you might as well 
wear your old hat, and let me have the best 
one,” Mary Eliza said with some shrewdness. 
“ My old hat looks worse than yours.” 

“ Well, we will see about it,” Sarah Ann 
answered. 

“ Say, read mine,” exclaimed little Samantha, 
jumping up and down in front of Sarah Ann ; 
and so they all listened while the third invitation 
was read. 


100 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


Then the rest wanted to hear their invitations, 
and by the time that they had all found out that 
they were invited to Miss Ruby Harper’s party, 
they were so happy that they had forgotten all 
about their quarrel. 


CHAPTER X. 


ruby’s party (^ concluded '). 

When Mrs. Bryant came home from her day’s 
work, she was as much pleased and surprised as 
the children themselves had been by their invi- 
tations to Ruby’s party. 

If the little Bryants had been expecting to be 
presented to her Majesty the queen, they could 
not have been in a greater state of excitement 
than they were over this party. 

In the first place it was the only party to 
which they had ever been invited in all their 
lives; and not even Sarah Ann, who always 
thought she knew all about everything, could 
give them much information about what a party 
was like.. She remembered reading something 
about a lawn-party once, in a Sunday-school book, 
but that was the extent of her knowledge on the 
subject. 

“ It ’s a good thing that they give you so much 
notice beforehand when you are expected to go 
to a party,” said Mrs. Bryant, as she discussed 


102 ruby’s ups and downs. 

the various wardrobes of the Bryant family with 
Sarah Ann, and tried to arrange for a sufficient 
number of suits to enable all the children to go 
out at once. 

“ I believe it ’s the way to wear white when you 
go to a party,” said Sarah Ann, feeling it to be 
quite a hardship that she was not able to say 
positively from her own personal experience just 
what should or should not be worn. 

“ Well, those as has white will wear white, 
and those as has n’t will wear what they have 
got,” was Mrs. Bryant’s sensible decision. 

“ What do they do at parties ? ” asked Jona- 
than Edwards, rather anxiously ; for upon reflec- 
tion he had begun to think that perhaps he had 
better not commit himself to any promise to go 
to a party until he found out what it was like. 

“ They eat cake for one thing,” said Cilly. “ I 
heard Maude Birkenbine talking about a party 
one day when I took her mother’s wash home ; 
and she was telling about a big birthday-cake 
she had once that was all trimmed off with 
candles and flowers.” 

“I guess I like parties then,” said Jonathan 
Edwards, who had a fondness for cake which 
was not often indulged in to any great extent. 

Between the day when the invitations were 
sent and received, and the great day of the 


ruby’s party. 


103 


party, nothing else was talked about either in 
the little red house or in Ruby’s home. There 
were no more hours of fretfulness for Ruby, for 
hs soon as she was tired of stories she was eager 
to talk about her party, and what she would do 
to make the little Bryants have a nice time. 

The Bryants were all troubled with weak eyes 
when they were recovering from the measles, and 
the doctor had cautioned Mrs. Bryant about let- 
ting them use their eyes too soon. Mrs. Bryant 
was determined that they should not injure their 
eyesight by any imprudence, and she was very 
watchful that none of them should sit by the 
window with the shade up, lest the glare of the 
sun should inflame their eyes, and she insisted 
that the first time they went out they should all 
wear veils. 

“ I sha’n’t never go out then,” said David 
Howard, gloomily, with a shocking indifference 
to grammar as well as to his eyesight. 

“Yes, you will,” said Sarah Ann, severely. 
“ And you ’ll wear a veil too, if Mother says so.” 

The day of the party was a bright, sunshiny 
day, and Ruby was delighted when she awoke to 
see that there was not a single cloud in the sky. 
It was just the loveliest kind of a day for a birth- 
day, particularly when a party was to end it. 
Ruby was feeling pretty well again by this time, 


104 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


and was quite able to enjoy the presents that were 
by her plate when she came down to breakfast. 

She had everything that a little girl could wish 
for, and a great deal that she had never thought 
of wishing for. Her papa had given her a little 
blue locket with a gold chain by which to hang 
it around her neck, and in the locket were her 
dear papa’s and mamma’s faces smiling at her. 
Mamma had given her a writing-desk with her 
name on it. Ruby had wanted a writing-desk of 
her very own for ever and ever so long, and this 
was the prettiest one she had ever seen. It had 
a supply of paper and envelopes and stamps, just 
as Mamma’s desk had, and besides that there 
was a complete little sealing-wax set in it that 
delighted Ruby’s heart beyond expression. 

‘‘ Oh,” she exclaimed, “ I just feel as if I 
wanted to write letters and seal them up all day 
long. I sha’n ’t mind writing to Grandma one 
single bit now, with such a lovely desk. This is 
the beautifullest birthday I ever had.” 

Grandma had sent Ruby a little gold thimble 
that fitted her as if slie had tried it on, and 
Ruby’s name was engraved upon it. Ann had knit 
her a pair of red mittens, in which she could 
snowball next winter without any danger of 
Jack Frost getting a nip at her fingers; and 
Ruthy had sent her a pair of beautiful white 


ruby’s party. 


105 


rabbits with long ears and pink eyes. No won- 
der that Ruby thought it was a beautiful birthday. 

Promptly at three o’clock she was all ready 
for her guests, and watching for them. There 
was some rebellion in the Bryant household 
when the mother declared that no child should 
go who was not willing to wear a veil. 

“ But you have n’t got enough veils,” objected 
David Howard, who thought he would almost 
rather give up the party than wear a veil over his 
face. What if one of the boys should see him ? 

‘‘ I know I have n’t ; but I have a piece of 
brown mosquito-netting, which I am going to cut 
up into strips, and it will do just as well exactly 
as if it was meant for a veil. Of course it won’t 
look as well ; but looks aint anything compared 
to eyesight, and you can take it off as soon as 
you get to the house. The doctor would a heap 
rather you would have veils on, and maybe look 
a little queer, than that you should risk your eyes 
when you’ve only got one pair apiece.” 

Sarah Ann was very willing to make the 
younger ones obey; but she tried her best to 
beg off herself. 

‘‘ If I was n’t so big I would n’t mind how I 
looked,” she urged ; but I hate to go looking 
like a guy. I can squint my eyes so the light 
won’t get in them much,” 


106 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


“So can I squint my eyes/’ cried Jonathan 
Edwards, eagerly, hoping that Sarah Ann’s 
pleading would persuade her mother to change 
her mind about the veils. 

“ I ’m astonished at you, Sarah Ann,” she 
said. “ I should look to you to set the young 
ones a good example, instead of encouraging 
them in being so fussy. You can every one of 
you make up your minds to stay at home, or 
else wear veils without saying another word 
about it.” 

That settled it. Every little Bryant made up 
his or her mind to wear a veil, though they were 
anything but pleased at the prospect. 

At one o’clock they began to make their toilets 
for the party. Such scrubbing of faces and 
hands, and such brushing of hair went on for 
an hour. Sarah Ann and the mother took the 
younger ones in hand first, and when they had 
rubbed their faces till they were red and shining, 
and brushed their hair till it was as smooth as 
if it had been pasted down, they were told to sit 
still till the rest were ready. 

It was no light matter to get seven children 
ready for a party ; and Sarah Ann felt the re- 
sponsibility of it nearly as much as her mother. 
At last they were all dressed, and each one had 
the strip of brown mosquito-netting tied over 


ruby’s party. 


107 


their faces after they had bidden their mother 
good-by. 

‘‘Now be sure and mind your manners,” she 
called after her little brood as they started off 
two by two, Sarah Ann bringing up the rear 
with one of the little twins by each hand. 

“We will,” was the answer ; and as she turned 
back into the house she reflected that they gen- 
erally did behave themselves wherever they 
were, and that even Jonathan, who was apt to 
be the noisiest one of the lot, was always quiet 
when the doctor was about, so it was not likely 
that he would forget himself. 

“ Here comes the party ! ” shouted Ruby, as 
she saw them coming. “ Oh, Mamma, what have 
they all got on their faces ? Did they have 
brown measles do you s’pose, or what can it be ^ ” 

Mamma came to the window, and she smiled 
as she saw the little procession. 

“ They all have browm veils on, dear, to pro- 
tect their eyes, I suppose.” 

“ Oh, how funny they do look,” laughed Ruby. 
“ I should think the boys would hate to wear 
veils.” 

“ I have no doubt that they do dislike to wear 
them ; but if their mother wanted to have them 
wear veils, they are too good boys not to please 
her,” 


108 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


Jonathan Edwards and David Howard walked 
as fast as they could, and the others had to 
nearly run in their efforts to keep up with them, 
the boys were so' anxious to get to the party 
before they should meet any one who might see 
their veils. If one of the boys from school 
should see them, they were sure that they 
would never hear the last of it. 

Dr. Harper stood in the door, and welcomed 
them very pleasantly ; and then Mrs. Harper took 
them upstairs to take their things off. When 
she led the way down to the parlor where Ruby 
was waiting for them, suddenly all the children, 
including Ruby, were attacked with a fit of shy- 
ness. They knew Ruby very well, and she had 
often stopped to talk to them when she went 
past the house ; and yet because they had come 
to a party, they lost their tongues, and I 
am afraid their mother would have said, their 
manners as well. There they stood in a little 
group in the middle of the floor, one little twin 
clinging to each of Sarah Ann’s hands ; and Ruby 
stood at a little distance looking at them, and 
wishing that her mamma had come into the 
room with them, for she did not know what to 
say. 

“ Oh, there is n’t any cake at all ! I want to 
go home!” sobbed Samantha Jemima, finding 



The Bryants at Ruby’s Party' 




« 





c. 





> 


« 






* 


. V 

J A 


V. 


I 


ruby’s party. 


109 


her voice to uplift it in a wail, as she looked 
around the room in vain for any signs of refresh- 
ments, or the birthday-cake that the children 
had pictured to themselves. 

“I am ashamed to death of you, Sam,” said 
Sarah Ann, in severe tones, giving her a little 
shake. “ 1 shall tell Mother of you just as soon 
as I go home, and what she will do to you 1 am 
sure I don’t know.” 

This dreadful threat and the uncertainty of 
the punishment that was to await her made 
Samantha burst out into loud sobs, and Ruby 
forgot to be shy as she went over to comfort 
her. 

“ Don’t cry,” she said. “ Sarah Ann won’t 
tell on you, will you, Sarah Ann ? ” 

“ She ought to be told on for being so rude,” 
said Sarah Ann, ready to relent if taking back 
her threat would make Samantha Jemima stop 
crying, for it was just about as impolite to cry 
at a party as to talk about cake, and Sarah Ann 
felt responsible for the manners of all the others. 
“ If she will be good the rest of the time I won’t 
tell, though.” 

“ She will be good, won’t you ? ” said Ruby, 
kissing the little face that was all dimples and 
curves, Sam was so fat. 

“Yes, I will be good. Is there any cake?” 


110 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


asked Sam, still interested in the question of 
refreshments. 

‘‘ Yes ; but we are n’t going to have it till by 
and by,” explained Ruby. By this time Mamma 
had come into the room, and in a few moments 
she had made the children feel at home, and was 
helping them to play a game which even the 
little ones would enjoy. 

Ruby was quite sure that she had never been 
at a party where she had had a better time than 
at this one. Her guests were so delighted with 
everything that was done for their amusement, 
and entered so heartily into the games, that it 
made Ruby happy to see their happiness. 

‘‘ Well, pussy, are you having a nice time?” 
Papa asked, as she snuggled her hand into his 
for a moment, after a little loving fashion she had. 

“ Oh, a beautiful time. Papa,” Ruby answered 
so earnestly that he knew she meant it. 

The little Bryants behaved very well, though 
Sarah Ann was disposed to be too strict, until 
Mrs. Harper explained to her that Ruby wanted 
to have them feel at home, and not sit still. 

Little Sam was very impatient for the cake, 
and every now and then she shocked her sister 
by asking if it was most time to eat it ; but she 
was willing to wait when Ruby told her that it 
would not be time till the tea-bell rang. 


ruby’s party. 


Ill 


Ruby was going to have different refreshments 
from those that she would have had if the guests 
had been the children that she usually invited to 
a party. Mamma knew that a good appetizing 
meal would be very acceptable to the Bryant 
children, who, while they always had plenty to 
eat, had only the plainest of fare. 

Ruby had been pleased at the idea of having 
supper for them ; and so the table was set for a 
regular meal, while the pretty birthday-cake, 
with eight candles around it, stood in the middle 
of the table. 

“ Oh ! ” exclaimed little Sam, rapturously, as 
she was lifted into her place and her eyes fell 
upon the dish at the end of the table. “ Just 
see ! Schicken and cake too ! ” 

Sarah Ann tried to look severe, but she 
could n’t, for she was too happy ; and then eveiy 
one seemed to think that Sam was cunning 
instead of rude, so it was n’t worth while to 
scold her. 

I wish you could have seen how the little 
Bryants enjoyed the chicken and Ann’s deli- 
cious waffles. The large dish of broiled chicken 
melted away as if it had been snow in the sun- 
shine ; and it was all Ann could do to keep the 
table supplied with waffles, though she had made 
a huge dish just to get a start, as she said. 


112 


kuby’s ups and downs. 


Measles must have been very good for the 
appetite, to judge from the way all the children 
ate. The birthday-cake was just as good as it 
looked, and that was saying a great deal. Ruby 
cut it, and she cut just the sized pieces that she 
liked to have herself, so they were very generous 
ones. Besides the birthday-cake, Ann had made 
smaller frosted cakes for the childj*en to take 
home with them. Ruby had enjoyed watching 
her make them, and had pleased Ann very much 
by telling her that they were the most beautiful 
cakes she had ever seen. Some were iced with 
chocolate, and had a child’s name on theni in 
pink icing; some were white with a chocolate 
name, and some were pink with a white name ; 
and then there were little twists and dots of 
icing here and there all over the cakes, that 
made them very fine indeed. 

Ruby gave each one of her guests one of the 
pretty little candles on the birthday-cake to take 
home with them to remember the party by ; 
though you may be sure that they would never 
have forgotten it without the candle, for it was 
the first party they had ever attended, and the 
happiest time they had ever had in all their 
lives. 


CHAPTER XL 


MOLASSES CANDY. 

The day after the party Ruby was not as 
happy a little girl as she had been for some 
days. In the first place she was tired from the 
excitement of the day before, and that made 
her feel badly, although she did not know it. 
Mamma knew it, however, and it made her very 
patient with Ruby, when she fretted and grum- 
bled about everything that did not go smoothly. 
Then she did not have the party to look forward 
to and plan about any more, and so she had the 
feeling that she had come to the end of every- 
thing. 

The pretty white rabbits amused her for some 
time ; but she was so used to having Ruthy 
to share everything with her, that she could 
not enjoy them as much as if she had had a 
companion. 

In just a week more Papa said she could go 
back to school, and play with all the children 
again ; but a week seemed a very long time to 
impatient Ruby. 


8 


114 


RUBY’S UPS AND DOWNS. 


Kuthy had written her a letter every day since 
she had been sick, and Ruby spent some of the 
morning in answering Ruthy’s last letter with 
the paper in her new desk. 

Mamma helped her seal the envelope with red 
sealing-wax, when it was all folded and directed ; 
and it was such fun to drop the hot wax that 
Ruby not only sealed the envelope, but put 
another drop in the corner for a kiss. 

She said it looked just like a kiss, so she was 
sure that Ruthy would know what it was meant 
for. That morning when Papa started out to 
see his patients she said dismally, as he kissed 
her good-by, and asked, “ What shall I bring 
my little girl ? ” 

“ I do wish you could bring me some one to 
play with. Papa.” 

When Papa came home to dinner. Ruby saw, 
as soon as the low buggy turned in at the gate, 
that there was some one sitting by Papa, and 
it must be some little girl, for Ruby could see 
her feet, with the copper-toed shoes, hanging 
down. 

‘‘ I wonder who it is ! ” she exclaimed ; and 
then in an instant more she cried joyously, — 
Oh, it ’s Orpah ! I wonder how Papa came 
to bring her ; I wonder if she wants some 
measles ? ” 


MOLASSES CANDY. 


115 


Orpah jumped out the moment the horse 
stopped, and ran up the steps. Ruby was 
almost as glad to see her as she would have 
been to see Ruthy, for she was very fond of 
Orpah, now that she had become better acquainted 
with her than she used to be. 

Just to think I might as well have come 
to see you ever so long ago,” exclaimed Orpah, 
as she kissed Ruby. “ I have had the measles, 
though I never knew it till this morning. 
Miss Harris said the matron at the poorhouse 
told her I had them when I was two years old ; 
bufc she had forgotten all about it, and never 
thought of it till she heard your papa say how 
much he wished he could find a little girl that 
had had them to take home to play with you. 
I have come to stay all the rest of the day with 
you.” 

“ I wish you could stay all night too,” Ruby 
said; “we would have lots of fun. We could 
go to bed early and talk ever so long. Oh, don’t 
you s’pose you could stay all night ? ” 

“ Miss Harris said I could if your mamma 
invited me to,” Orpah answered. 

“ Oh, Mamma, you do invite her, don’t you ?” 
asked Ruby, eagerly. 

“ I shall be very glad to have you stay, Orpah,” 
Mamma said smilingly. 


116 


euby’s ups and downs. 


“We ’ll have lots of fun,” said Ruby. “ Can we 
make molasses candy this afternoon, Mamma ? ” 

“Yes,” Mamma answered. 

“ Goodie ! ” exclaimed Ruby. “We will crack 
nuts and pick the meats out this morning, and 
make nut candy too. Oli, we will have just lots 
of fun ! I must show you all my birthday things 
first, though, Orpah.” 

Never had there been a more welcome guest 
than Orpah proved herself. Ruby had been shut 
away from the society of her schoolmates for so 
long that she had a great many questions to ask 
about all that had gone on in school, and about 
the new teacher, and Luther Oakes ; and Orpah 
had a great deal to tell her. 

In the afternoon, when the kitchen-table had 
been cleared, and Ann had her work all done. 
Mamma let them make molasses candy, and Ann 
helped them. 

Ruby liked to have some one help who would 
do all the hard part of the candy making, — 
such as the stirring the molasses over the hot 
fire, and watching that it did not boil over. 

It proved to be a great success ; and Mamma 
gave them one plateful to eat that afternoon, 
and the rest was put away on a large platter, all 
marked off into squares so it would break apart 
nicely when it was hard. 


MOLASSES CANDY. 


117 


While the children were waiting for it to 
harden, Ann told them a story about when she 
was a little girl, and the story lasted till the 
candy was ready to eat. 

Generally Ruby was not ready to go to bed 
when bedtime came ; but this evening she wanted 
to go upstairs soon after supper and begin to get 
ready for bed. 

“ Oh, it ’s so nice to have had some one to 
play with to-day. Papa,” she said as she climbed 
up on his knee for her good-night kiss. “ I just 
feel as if I did n’t want to waste any of the time 
sleeping to-night ; but as if I wanted to talk all 
night instead.” 

Papa laughed. 

“ You ’ll have lots of time for talking before 
bedtime, so you had better make up your mind 
to go to sleep then,” he said as he cuddled her 
up coseyly against him. 

More than one little girl had thought that 
those strong arms were nice to cuddle in, and 
sometimes there was room for both Ruby and 
Ruthy at once in them. 

Dr. Harper loved little girls, and they always 
seemed to know it. It made them more willing 
to be sick and take bad medicines if such a kind 
doctor came to see them. 

Mamma came upstairs to kiss the little 


118 euby’s ups and downs. 

girls good-night after they were undressed and 
were all ready for the night in their little white 
night-gowns. 

Motherless little Orpah coul^d imagine how 
sweet it would be to have a mother’s kiss and 
caress every night, as Mrs. Harper put her arms 
about her and gave her a good-night hug, just as 
tenderly as she did Ruby. 

“ You have got the sweetest mamma in all the 
world,” said Orpah, when Mrs. Harper had gone 
downstairs again, and left the two little girls to 
chat for a while before they went to sleep. 

Of course I have,” Ruby answered. “ She ’s 
the prettiest mamma too. I like to comb her 
hair, it ’s so crinkly and brown ; and then she ’s 
never cross. I know some of the girls always 
look to see if their mammas are cross before 
they ask them if they can go anywhere ; but I 
always just know my mamma isn’t cross, and 
so I can ask her anything whenever I want to. 
She ’s never cross even if 1 am naughty. She ’s 
just sorry, and she only punishes me to help me 
remember. Now Mamie Brown’s mamma just 
slaps her ’cause she gets cross herself, not be- 
cause she’s sorry Mamie has been doing anything 
bad. I just know my mamma don’t get cross at 
me when I do things she don’t want me to ; she 
gets sorry, and that’s very different. I am 


MOLASSES CAKDY. 


119 


s’prised at myself that I ever do things she don’t 
like when I ’member how nice she is.” 

“ I don’t believe I would ever do anything to 
make her sorry if she was my mamma,” said 
Orpah, wistfully. 

“Well, I just guess you would then, Orpah 
Haines,” said Ruby, quickly, feeling as if Orpah 
was intimating that she would be better than 
Ruby, and Ruby would never admit that any 
one was better than she was herself; even if 
she was willing to say that she did not always 
do just right, she was not going to let any one 
else say so. 

“Do you s’pose you’d be just perfect and 
never do anything bad ? There is n’t any one in 
all the world that is good all the time ; I heard 
the minister say so, and I guess he knows, so ! 
Do you s’pose you know better than the 
minister ? ” 

“ I did n’t s’pose I would be better than any 
one else,” said Orpah, meekly. “ I suppose I 
would be cross to other people sometimes, and 
maybe do things at school that I had n’t ought 
to do ; but I meant that I would always be good 
to your mamma, if she was my mamma. I 
would n’t ever talk back to her. I know I am 
not any better than you are. Ruby.” 

“ Of course you are not,” said Ruby. “ 1 


120 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


don’t do any more bad things than any one else ; 
and I ’m better in school than most of the girls 
are. I ’most always have good marks. Oh, I 
am so afraid I shall forget and speak to that 
dreadful Luther Oakes, if he teases me ! ” 

“ I forgot to tell you the teacher has changed 
his seat. He has a desk all to himself right 
up on the platform beside her, so he has to 
behave all the time,” Orpah said. 

‘^That’s good,” said Ruby. “I can keep out 
of his way at recess so he won’t tease me, and 
my papa has told him that he mustn’t touch 
Ruthy and me any more. I just think that was 
what gave me the measles, having those old 
burdocks in my hair.” 

“ I don’t see how that could give you measles,” 
answered Orpah. 

“ Well, what was it gave me the measles 
then ?” demanded Ruby. “ I never had measles 
before, and I did have them the day after the 
burdocks were 'in my hair, so that looks to me 
just as if it was the burdocks gave them to 
me.” 

“ But Ruthy had burdocks in her hair, and 
she didn’t have any measles,” argued Orpah. 

‘‘ Most prob’ly she did n’t have enough bur- 
docks,” Ruby answered, not willing to give up 
her point. ‘‘Luther put so many in my hair 


MOLASSES CANDY. 


121 


that there could n’t have been very many left 
for Ruthy. That ’s why she did n’t get the 
measles.” 

“ Well, I had the measles when I was two 
years old, and burdocks did n’t give them to me,” 
persisted Orpah. 

“ How do you know they did n’t ? ” asked 
Ruby, crossly. “You just keep arguing and 
arguing, Orpah Haines, when you don’t know 
the first thing that you are talking about. Do 
you s’pose you remember way back to when you 
were two years old, whether you had burdocks 
put in your hair or not ? ” 

“ Well, I have got a picture that was taken 
when I was most three years old,” Orpah said, 
“ and I did n’t have but the least little bit of 
hair then, so I don’t s’pose I had enough to put 
burdocks in when I was two years old.” 

“I do think you are the most disagreeable 
girl, Orpah Haines,” Ruby exclaimed angrily. 
“ What do you s’pose I care whether you had 
any hair or not when you were two years old ? 
I don’t care if you did n’t have a single hair ; I 
don’t care whether you have any hair now or 
not!” 

Orpah giggled. 

“ I ’d look pretty funny without any hair, 
wouldn’t I?” she said. “My head would be 


122 ruby’s ups and downs. 

all shiny and bald like Deacon Fuller’s, and the 
flies would tickle me the way they do him in 
church.” 

Ruby laughed too. 

‘‘I’d like to see how you would look,” she 
said. “ I wish you could take your hair off for 
just a few minutes, so ’s I could look at you.” 

“ My hair was pretty nearly all cut off when I 
had the fever,” Orpah said. “Wasn’t it funny 
that it all began to curl as soon as it grew 
again.” 

“ Did you eat crusts ? ” asked Ruby. 

“ No ; why ? Do crusts make your hair 
grow?” asked Orpah. 

“ That ’s what a girl we had once told me,” 
Ruby answered. “ But my mamma only laughed 
and said she guessed it would n’t make much 
difference, when I asked her about it ; so I don’t 
s’pose it ’s really true. Why some people must 
have eaten nothing but crusts all their lives, if 
that is really true ! ” 

“ I don’t like to eat crusts much, do you ? ” 
asked Orpah. 

“ Mamma always puts some molasses on mine, 
and then I don’t mind them,” Ruby answered. 
“ I wish I had some bread and molasses now ; 
I don’t believe I ate enough supper, did 
you ? ” 


MOLASSES CANDY. 


123 


“ I ’m not hungry ” Orpah answered. “ Are 
you ? ” 

“ Well, I would like something nice,” Ruby 
said. “I would like some molasses candy, 
would n’t you ? ” 

“ Oh, yes ; I would like that if I was n’t a bit 
hungry,” Orpah responded. 

“I just believe I will go and get us each a 
piece,” Ruby said. ‘‘ I know where it is, and I 
can get it just as easy as anything.” 

‘‘Would your mamma like you to have it in 
bed ? ” asked Orpah. 

“ I guess my mamma likes to have me happy,” 
Ruby returned rather snappishly. She had her 
own doubts about Mamma’s approval of molasses 
candy in bed, and that was why she was going 
to help herself to it instead of asking for it. 

Because she was not quite satisfied about it 
herself, she was all the more ready to be vexed 
at Orpah for suggesting that it might not be 
right. It was quite true that her mamma liked 
to have her happy ; but Ruby knew very well 
that there were a great many things that would 
make her happy to do that Mamma would not 
permit. 

Orpah said no more, and Ruby jumped out of 
bed and went for the candy. 

“ Do you want me to go with you ? ” asked 
Orpah. 


124 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


“ No, you stay there till I come back ; you ’re 
company,” Ruby answered; and then she ran 
softly down the stairs, in her bare feet, to the 
pantry. She broke ofP two long stripes of candy, 
all the way across the pan, and ran upstairs 
again with them. 

“ Here ’s a piece for you,” she said, as she 
handed one piece to Orpah. 

“ Oh, what big pieces ! ” exclaimed Orpah. “ I 
don’t believe we ought to eat such big pieces 
at bedtime. Ruby, when you ’ve been sick 
too.” 

“ Then just put it down and don’t touch it, if 
you don’t want it,” said Ruby, vexed again at 
Orpah’s putting into words the thought that was 
in her own heart. “ I do think you are too dis- 
agreeable for anything in this world, Orpah 
Haines. You are all the time saying things 
that I don’t like. You are company and you 
ought only to say nice things that I like. If you 
had any manners you would say ‘ thank you ’ 
for such a big piece of candy, and not go to fuss- 
ing about the size of it.” 

“ I did n’t mean to make you mad. Ruby 
dear,” said Orpah, gently. “ I did n’t mean to 
say anything disagreeable; only I knew you 
wouldn’t want to do anything your mamma 
wouldn’t like, and I thought maybe — ” 


MOLASSES CANDY. 


125 


‘‘ Will you hush and eat your candy ? ” asked 
Ruby, crossly, and Orpah said no more. 

After the two mouths were full of sticky 
molasses candy there was not much more con- 
versation, and soon the two little girls were fast 
asleep, with the candy in their hands, and as big 
a piece as they could get into their mouths, 
partly eaten. 

Mamma always looked at Ruby the last thing 
before she went to sleep herself, to see that she 
was covered up and was sleeping well ; so about 
ten o’clock she took a candle and went into the 
room, opening from her own, in which Ruby and 
Orpah were sleeping. 

At first she could not imagine what had hap- 
pened. The candle did not make a very bright 
light ; and as it flickered in the draught from the 
open door, she could see something dark all over 
the girls’ faces, that had stained the white 
pillows and spotted the front of their night- 
dresses. 

She could not understand it until she bent 
over the bed and looked at the dark stains. 

“ Oh, dear, what a sticky pair they are ! ” she 
thought to herself, dismayed at the prospect of 
getting the melted molasses candy off the pil- 
lows and counterpane, and yet unable to keep 
from smiling at the sticky little faces and hands. 


126 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


‘‘ Ruby ! Orpah ! ” she said, putting down the 
candle and waking them up. 

Oh, I ’m so sleepy ! I don’t want to wake 
up ! ” said Ruby, nestling deeper into her pillow 
as she heard her mamma’s voice. 

“ But look at your hands and your nightdress,” 
said Mamma, and Ruby opened a pair of sleepy 
eyes to see the candy all over everything. 

“ I never should have s’posed a little piece of 
candy could possibly get over so many things ! ” 
said Ruby, dolefully, when at last their faces, 
hands, and hair were free from the sticky 
molasses, and they had on clean nightdresses. 

No one else would have supposed so either, for 
surely molasses candy had never spread itself 
out so before. You may be very sure that it 
never had another opportunity ; for Mamma ex- 
plained to Ruby that one of the things that she 
must never do again was to take molasses candy 
to bed with her. 

She did not say anything to Ruby about it 
until the next day, lest Orpah should feel as if 
she too had been to blame ; and Mamma was 
quite sure that it had been Ruby’s suggestion, 
even before the little girl confessed it. 

“ You did n’t ever tell me not to take candy to 
bed with me. Mamma,” said Ruby, trying to 
excuse herself, “ so it was n’t disobeying.” 


MOLASSES CANDY. 


127 


“ But you knew I would not like you to do it,” 
Mamina answered. ‘‘ Don’t you think it is just 
as disobedient to disregard my wishes as my 
expressed rules, darling ? ” 

“ I guess so,” Ruby answered, resolving again, 
as she had so often before, never to disobey such 
a dear mamma again, or displease her in any 
way. 


CHAPTER XIL 


THE minister’s TEA-PARTY. 

The minister was coming to tea. He took tea 
at Mrs. Harper’s two or three times every year, 
and Ruby always felt as if it was a very great 
occurrence, for the minister was very much 
looked up to by the children in his congregation. 

He was an old gentleman with white hair and 
a kind face, and as he went past the children he 
knew, he would give them a smile or a pleasant 
word ; but still they all stood in awe of him, and 
would never have thought of climbing upon his 
knee as they did upon the good doctor’s when- 
ever he came to see them. 

Ruthy’s papa and mamma were coming too ; 
and all the morning Mrs. Harper and Ann were 
very busy getting all the good things ready for 
tea. Ruby and Ruthy had always eaten at a 
little side-table when the minister came to tea ; 
but this time Ruby coaxed to be allowed to come 
to the grown-up table and eat with the minister. 

“ I ’ll be so good. Mamma, and you know 
Ruthy will be good too. Please let us.” 


THE minister’s TEA-PARTY. 129 

Mamma promised, and Ruby determined that 
she would impress the minister with the fact 
that she was one of the best-behaved little girls 
anywhere to be found. 

Ruby liked to have people praise her, and she 
could always be depended upon to have the very 
best of company manners when any one was 
visiting them. 

When Ruby and Ruthy came home from 
school. Ruby stopped at Ruthy ’s house until her 
little friend put on her best dress, and had her 
hair brushed and tied up with fresh blue ribbons, 
all ready for tea, and then they both walked the 
rest of the way to Ruby’s house together. 

Mamma brushed Ruby’s hair then, and put on 
her best dress of crimson cashmere, trimmed 
with narrow bands of black velvet all around the 
skirt. Ruthy had on a blue dress, which suited 
her fair hair, and the two dresses made a very 
pretty contrast. 

When they were both ready, they sat down 
quietly on the porch to wait for the minister. 
They did not want to run about and play, lest 
they should get all tumbled up and not be ready 
for company. 

When the minister came to take tea there 
was one thing he did which always pleased 
Ruby, but made Ruthy rather dread his visits. 

9 


130 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


While he was waiting for tea, he liked to hear 
how far the little girls could say in the catechism. 
Ruby liked this ; for slie enjoyed nothing more 
than showing the minister how well she knew it, 
and she was very proud of standing up by his 
knee and answering the questions as glibly as 
a little parrot. 

Ruthy knew the answers just as well, but she 
was shy ; and when the minister asked her a 
question, her face would grow red, she would 
hang her head, and perhaps have to have the 
first words repeated to get her started. 

It does frighten me so,” she said to Ruby, 
as they said the catechism to each other to see 
if they were all ready for the minister. 

It ’s silly to be so afraid of little things,” 
said Ruby, in a superior way that she would have 
greatly resented herself if any one had spoken 
to her in that manner. Ruby, like a great many 
older people, was apt to say a great many things 
that she would not like to have any one say to 
herself. “ I don’t mind saying my catechism 
one bit ; I think it ’s nice.” 

“ I wish I did n’t mind it so much,” sighed 
Ruthy. “ Perhaps I won’t make any mistakes 
this time, I know it so much better than I did 
last time the minister was at our house.” 

When the little girls saw the minister coming, 
they ran down to open the gate for him. 


THE minister’s TEA-PARTY. 131 

“ How do you do, my little dears ? ” he asked, 
patting them each on the liead. 

“Very well I thank you, sir,” Ruby replied 
very promptly ; but Ruthy flushed shyly, and left 
Ruby to make all the answer. 

After the minister had shaken hands with Mr. 
and Mrs. Warren, who had come by this time, 
and had been welcomed by the doctor and his 
wife, he sat down in the big easy chair that 
Ruby always thought of as the minister’s chair, 
and drew the little girls up to him. 

He put one arm about each of them, and they 
stood there, knowing what was going to come 
next. 

“ Let me see how well you can say the cate- 
chism,” he always began, and as usual he asked 
Ruby the first question. 

She did wish that he would ask her all of 
them; for she could say them so fast, while 
Ruthy always answered in such a soft voice 
that even the minister could hardly hear her 
by bending his head over toward her. 

“ You have answered very well indeed, my 
dear little ones,” he said, when he had finished 
the catechism ; and then Mamma asked all the 
company to walk out to tea. 

Ruby had begged that she might sit next to 
the minister ; and she was very proud when he 


132 kuby’s ups and downs. 

looked down at her with a smile, and said, 
“ So we are going to sit side by side are we ? ” 
The minister should see how beautifully she 
could behave, and what a nice little girl she 
was. Very likely, after Euby had gone to bed, 
he would say to Ruby’s papa, — 

“ Dr. Harper, what a good little girl you have, 
and how beautifully she does behave. I think 
she is the smartest little girl I know, because 
she says her catechism so well.” 

Poor little Ruby, she did not know what a fall 
her vanity would have before long ! 

Of course Mamma had a very nice supper for 
such an honored guest as the minister. There 
was broiled chicken with cream gravy, and some 
of Ann’s very nicest waffles ; and there were 
pickles and preserves and two kinds of cake, 
and lettuce and tomatoes, and everything that 
Ruby liked, she thought as she looked over 
the table. 

The best thing about the whole supper, though, 
would be her behavior ; of that she was sure. 
Ruthy was always good too, she reflected ; but 
then poor Ruthy was so shy that people never 
knew how good and how clever she was. Every 
one should have a chance to know all about 
Ruby’s good qualities, if she could only have a 
chance to show herself off. 


THE minister’s TEA-PARTY. 


133 


The meal began very pleasantly. Mamma 
passed Ruby the minister’s cup of tea, and Ruby 
fairly trembled in her anxiety to put it down 
nicely by his plate. Suppose she should upset 
it! Why, she could never go to church again 
if she did such a dreadful thing, and she should 
always have to run and hide when she saw him 
coming. 

Nothing happened to the tea-cup however, and 
Ruby sat up very straight and ate very properly, 
quirking out her little finger when she held her 
glass, as she had seen Mrs. Birkenbine do. Of 
course Ruby would not have changed her 
mamma for Maude’s ; but it did look so very 
elegant, silly little Ruby thought, to see any 
one quirk out their finger when they held a 
glass. 

Just as she was thinking how very beautifully ' 
she was behaving, and wondering whether the 
minister was noticing it, the most dreadful 
thing happened that Ruby could possibly have 
imagined. 

Ruby had a small tomato on her plate, and 
she took up her knife and fork to cut it. The 
minister had his face turned that way just then, 
for he was listening to something that Ruby’s 
mamma was saying. Perhaps the knife was 
dull, perhaps the tomato had an unusually thick 


134 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


skin, Ruby could never tell just how it happened, 
but suddenly a little stream of tomato-juice 
squirted out of a hole in the tomato and flew all 
over the minister, and as Ruby sobbed after- 
wards, “ It was the juiciest tomato that ever 
grew.” 

It spattered on his white hair, a few drops 
went on his face and gold-rimmed spectacles, 
some stained his vest, and all the rest went over 
his coat. 

Why, my dear,” said the minister, gently, 
not intending to reprove Ruby, for of course he 
knew it was an accident, but trying to reassure 
her. He had started a little as the juice spat- 
tered in his face, for he had not expected to 
have tomato-juice squirt over him in this fashion. 

Ruby turned and looked at him, and at all the 
tomato-juice that she had spattered over him. 
Could anything possibly have been more dread- 
ful ? Her poor little face looked the picture of 
.woe and shame. 

“ Oh ! ” she cried. “ I never meant — ” but 
she could not say any more. She slipped out of 
her chair and ran away from the table as fast as 
she could go. 

It was too, too bad, and just when she was 
trying to be so good too. She should just die, 
she was so ashamed, she said to herself again 


THE minister’s TEA-PARTY. 


135 


and again as she ran out to the barn. She 
would never want to look at any one again as 
long as she lived, but she would stay out there 
in the hay till she died, and then they would 
find her and bury her. Ruby cried a little 
harder as she thought how sorry her mamma 
would be when she did not have any little girl 
any more. 

She heard Ruthy’s voice pretty soon, calling 
her; but she only burrowed deeper in the hay 
without answering. She never wanted to see 
Ruthy again either. Ruthy had never squirted 
tomato-juice all over the minister, if she was so 
shy that she could not look up at him when she 
answered his questions. Oh, why must such a 
dreadful thing have happened to Ruby of all 
people ? 

“ Ruby ! ’’ called Ruthy. “ I know you are 
here. Ruby, for Ann saw you come out. Please 
answer me. Ruby ! ” 

The dust in the hay was getting into Ruby’s 
nose, and she was sure she would sneeze in a 
minute, and then Ruthy would hear her and 
know where she was. She tried her best to 
keep the sneeze back as Ruthy stood downstairs 
and listened for Ruby to speak, but it would 
come. “ Ah-choo ! ” she went, and Ruthy came 
up as fast as she could. 


136 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


“ I heard you sneezing, Ruby. You might just 
as well tell mo where you are, for I ’ll see you in 
a minute. There, I see your dress. Don’t cry. 
Ruby. You didn’t mean to.” 

Ruby hid her face, as loving Rutliy cuddled 
down beside her and put her arms around her 
neck. 

“I am so miserable I just think I will die, 
Ruthy Warren,” she said. “I never would have 
believed that I could have done such a dreadful 
thing, and I shall never eat another tomato as 
long as I live and breathe, so there ! ” 

“ It was n’t so very dreadful,” said Ruthy, 
comfortingly. 

“ Yes, it was, too,” said Ruby, despairingly. 
“ You know just as well as I do it was awful, 
Ruthy. What did the minister say ? ” 

‘‘ He said he was sorry you felt so bad about 
it, for he knew it was all an accident,” Ruthy 
answered. 

“ Yes ; he might have known that I would n’t 
have done it on purpose for all the money in the 
world,” said Ruby. “ But that don’t make it any 
better. He will always think when he sees me, 
• Oh, that is the little girl that squirted tomato- 
juice all over me.’ I shall never let him see me 
again ! ” 

“Please don’t mind it so much,” pleaded 


THE minister’s TEA-PARTY. 


137 


Ruthy. “ Won’t you come back and have some 
tea ? ” 

“ I don’t see how you can ask me to do such a 
thing, Ruthy Warren ! ” exclaimed Ruby, indig- 
nantly. “ I should s’pose you would know that I 
could n’t go back after I had done such a thing, 
not if I never had any supper again. Oh, dear, 
and I did n’t have but one piece of chicken, and 
Papa was going to give me the pulley-bone next 
time, I just know he was.” 

“ Well, if you don’t want to go back to the 
table,” coaxed Ruthy, “ come back to the house, 
and I will wait too ; and after all the rest have 
gone into the parlor we will eat our supper with 
Ann; that would be real fun. I like to hear 
Ann talk, she is so funny.” 

Ruby felt as if she would like to do this. She 
was not quite so sure that she meant to stay out 
in .the hay till she died, especially since she had 
heard that the minister had said that he knew it 
was an- accident. It might take a long time to 
die of starvation, perhaps a whole day ; and it 
would be very lonely staying out in the barn by 
herself all that time. 

Ruby was hungry too, and the thought of 
chicken was very tempting. 

“ You are sure that the minister would n’t see 
me ? ” she said. 


138 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


“ Why of course he would n’t ! ” Ruthy assured 
her. “ He would n’t ever think of looking out 
into the kitchen, no matter how much he wanted 
to see you ; we could eat there with Ann with- 
out any one seeing us. I have n’t finished my 
supper yet, either. I came away ’most as soon 
as you did.” 

“ And Ann would make some waffles for us,” 
Ruby said. 

“ Yes, would n’t that be nice ? ” Ruthy 
answered. “ Come on. Ruby.” 

Ruby felt as if waffles and chicken were too 
tempting to refuse, even if she was perfectly 
miserable. 

She brushed the hay off her dress, and followed 
Ruthy up to the house. Ann welcomed them in 
the kitchen, and as soon as the company had 
gone into the parlor, she brought out the things 
from the table, and fixed a cosey little supper for 
them all by themselves at one end of the kitchen- 
table. ^ 

Mamma slipped away from her company for a 
moment to comfort her little girl, whom she 
knew would be dreadfully mortified by her acci- 
dent ; but she heard Ruby’s voice in the kitchen, 
and glancing through the door saw that she was 
having a nice time with Ruthy, so she went back 
again without going into the kitchen, lest seeing 


THE minister’s TEA-PARTY. 139 

her should recall the tomato-juice afresh to 
Ruby’s mind. 

By the time Ruby had finished supper, she did 
not feel quite as badly, and she began to think 
that perhaps by and by, when she was a young 
lady and the minister had forgotten all about 
the tomato-juice, she might go to his church 
again. What she should do in the mean time 
she was not very sure. 

When supper was over, and Ann was clearing 
up. Ruby and Ruthy thought that they would go 
upstairs. As Ruby was walking softly along the 
hall, the parlor-door opened and the minister 
himself came out. He had left his handkerchief 
in his overcoat-pocket and he had come out to 
get it. Ruby gave a little cry of dismay and 
started to run ; but the strong arm caught her 
and held her fast, and she did not dare struggle 
to get away, when it was the minister who was 
holding her. 

“ My dear little girl,” he said almost as ten- 
derly as Ruby’s own papa could have said it, 
“ I want to tell you not to worry your dear 
little head for one moment over the tomato. I 
did not mind it in the least — ” 

Ruby’s tears started again, as she saw the 
dreadful spots she had made, and she began to 
cry so hard that the poor minister was quite dis- 


140 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


mayed, for he was not used to little girls nor to 
having them cry. 

He went back into the parlor, and sitting down 
took Ruby up in his lap. “ Let me tell you some- 
thing,” he said, and Ruby stopped crying a 
moment to listen. “ You are making me feel 
very badly now, though I did not mind at all 
about the tomato. I do not like to think that 
one of my little lambs is so afraid of me that she 
cannot forget a little accident. Now if you want 
to please me, you will let me wipe your tears, 
and not shed any more.” 

Then he took his own handkerchief and wiped 
Ruby’s tear-stained cheeks, and then gave her a 
kiss. 

Ruby did not feel like crying any more after 
that. It was a great thing to have the minister 
kiss her. Somehow it seemed like church ; for 
the only time Ruby had ever seen him kiss any 
one before was in church, when he had baptized 
little babies. He had always kissed them when 
he laid them back in their mother’s arms, and so 
it seemed rather like church to have him kiss 
her now. 

Ruby felt very happy to think that she was 
actually sitting on his knee, just as she did upon 
her papa’s, and she wondered whether Ruthy was 
not wishing that she was there too. 


THE minister’s TEA-PARTY. 


141 


By and by, when it was bedtime, she went up- 
stairs to bed with Ruthy, who was going to stay 
all night with her, feeling happier than she had 
ever expected to again in all her life. 

It was a dreadful thing, of course, to squirt 
tomato-juice over the minister ; but it was very 
nice to have him so kind, and to have him hold 
Ruby in his lap and actually kiss her to make 
her happy again. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


orpah’s uncle. 

The very last thing that any one would have 
thought about happened in November. One 
day a stranger came to town, and driving out 
to the poorhouse, asked if they could tell him 
anything about a Mrs. Haines whom he had 
been told had been taken there during her last 
illness. 

The matron told him that she had died, and 
showed him where she had been interred in a 
corner of the little churchyard. 

“ Did you know she left a little girl ? ’’ she 
asked, as he turned away without making any 
.further inquiry. 

“ No ! ” he exclaimed in surprise, “ I did not 
know that ! Where is the child ? Is she still 
living ? ” 

The matron told him all about Orpah, and 
where she was living ; and the stranger went at 
once to Miss Harris’s to find his little niece, as 
Orpah was, for he had been Mrs. Haines’s 
brother. 


ORPAH’S UNCLE. 


143 


He had been on a sailing-vessel that went for 
a long voyage, and he had been taken ill and 
laid for several months in a hospital. When he 
recovered, he started out for another long voy- 
age ; and then he went to California, where he 
had been making money, and had been too busy 
to write. Like many another man, he had 
intended each year to come home and see his 
family, and had been tempted to wait from year 
to year till he should have a little more money 
to bring home with him. He was not a rich 
man ; but he had enough to live comfortably 
upon, and to invest in any business into which 
he might wish to enter. 

Orpah was at school, and Miss Harris looked 
very much surprised when a gentleman came up 
to the door and asked whether Orpah Haines 
lived there. 

She asked him to come in and wait till she 
returned from school, and while he was waiting 
she asked what he wanted with Orpah. 

Miss Harris was very much surprised when 
she found out that Orpah, whom every one had 
supposed had no relations anywhere, was about 
to be claimed by this uncle. She wished that 
Orpah had had on her best dress when she went 
to school; but then she remembered that her 
uncle knew that she was working for her living, 


144 


ruby’s UPS AND DOWNS. 


and that the comfortable dress which she wore 
was quite as good as could have been expected. 
Since Orpah’s illness, Miss Harris had learned 
to become very fond of the little girl, and had 
been very kind to her. She had not meant to 
be unkind nor unjust to her before ; but she did 
not understand children, and it was so long since 
she. had been a child herself that she did not 
remember how a child feels about things. She 
had learned to understand Orpah better while 
she was sick than she had ever done before, and 
when she found out how happy it made Orpah to 
be kindly spoken to, and how willing she was to 
do her best without being scolded, she was far 
kinder to her than any one would have thought 
that Miss Harris could be, for she had the repu- 
tation of being very severe and strict. 

Orpah came home from school without the 
least idea of what a happiness was waiting for 
her. 

“Oh, what do you think. Miss Harris?” she 
exclaimed as she came in the door; but she 
stopped shyly when she saw the stranger. 

“ This is your uncle, Orpah,” said Miss Harris, 
kindly. 

“ Come here and give me a kiss, little niece,” 
said the gentleman, and after he had kissed her, 
he looked earnestly in her face. 


orpah’s uncle. 


145 


“ Yes, you are like your dear mother, my 
sister,” he said. “ I believe I should have 
known you anywhere from your likeness to her. 
I hope you will love me, little Orpah, and I will 
try to make you happy. I shall never forgive 
myself for having let my poor sister know what 
it was to want. She was so well provided for 
when I went away from home that I little 
dreamed of what she might suffer.” 

“ All your sister’s troubles seemed to come at 
once, poor thing,” said Miss Harris. Your 
father and mother died within a month of each 
other, to begin with.” 

“ Yes ; I heard of their death,” said the gentle- 
man. “I suppose I should have been home 
before, if I had not heard that my mother was 
gone. When I knew that the old people were 
not here, it took all the heart out of any home 
coming ; and then my sister was young, and I 
thought I had many a year in which to see her. 
I never dreamed that she would not be here in 
the old place to welcome me. Can you tell me 
how it was that she came to be so dependent 
upon strangers at the last ? ” 

‘‘ Well, as near as I remember, your father 
mortgaged the old home to pay a note that he 
had indorsed, and which never ought to have 
come to him to pay ; and he could not keep the 
10 


146 


kuby’s ups and downs. 


interest up, and so he lost the old place. Then 
your sister’s husband died a few months after 
they were married, and so of course he had n’t 
anything laid up for her in case she should need 
it ; and after Orpah here was born, she was always 
ill, and there was n’t any one to take her and 
care for her, and so she got to the poor house at 
last.” 

“ My poor sister,” said the gentleman, drawing 
Orpah more closely to him. “ I am so glad that 
she left this little one, for I can in some measure 
make up to her for all the neglect from which 
my poor sister suffered.” 

Am I going to live with you. Uncle ?” asked 
Orpah, shyly. 

“ Yes, my dear child,”, her uncle answered. 

“ Do you want to leave me, Orpah ? ” asked 
Miss Harris, surprised to find how warm a place 
the child had in her heart. 

‘‘ I don’t want to go away from you, for you 
have been very kind to me,” said Orpah ; but, 
if you won’t mind my saying it, I should like to 
feel that I really belonged to some one. It ’s so 
lonesome not to have anybody that really belongs 
to you, even if every one is as kind as they can 
be.” 

“ You and 1 are both alone in the world except 
for each other, Orpah,” said her uncle. I under- 


orpah’s uncle. 


147 


stand just how you feel about wanting some one 
of your own flesh and blood to love you. We 
will be a great deal to each other, my dear child, 
and I hope we will be very happy together.” 

“ You can guess that I don’t know much about 
fixing a little girl up with what she ought to 
have,” he went on, turning to Miss Harris. 
“ May I ask you to do me, as well as Orpah, 
a favor ? ” 

I sliould only be too glad to do anything I 
can for Orpah,” said Miss Harris. 

Will you take this money and get her what 
she ought to have to look like any little girl who 
has got an uncle that tliinks all the world of 
her ? ” said Mr. Bodewin, for that was his name. 
“ I may not be rich exactly, but I am comfort- 
ably off, and I want Orpah to have all that 
a child needs to make her comfortable and 
happy.” 

“ Where are you thinking of staying ? ” asked 
Miss Harris. 

“ Do you know who has the old place ? Do 
you suppose I could get board there ? I should 
rather be under the old roof than anywhere else, 
as long as I am here,” Mr. Bodewin said. 

“ There ’s just an old couple in the house, and 
they have plenty of room as you may know ; so 
I daresay you would find them glad of the 


148 ruby’s. UPS AND DOWNS. 

chance to take you to board,” Miss Harris 
answered. 

“ I ’ll go down and see them now, and after 
supper I ’ll be back for a little chat with Orpah. 
We must get acquainted as fast as we can, little 
one, for we have a good deal of lost time to 
make up to each other.” Orpah stood in the 
doorway and looked after him as he walked 
down the road with long swinging steps. 

Tt all seemed like a dream. Instead of being 
a little drudge who might think herself happy if 
she could go to school after all her tasks were 
done, with no one to love her or care whether 
she was glad or sorry, she had been changed 
into a little girl who had an uncle to love her 
dearly and who was going to give her everything 
to make her happy. He had already given her 
what her hungry little heart had longed for, — a 
relation of her own to whom she really belonged. 

Before she had been sick, when Miss Harris 
had always been strict and stern with her, and 
the girls at school had looked down upon her 
because she was a “bound girl,” Orpah had 
thought that no one could be quite as desolate 
and unhappy as she was. Now it seemed as if 
nothing but having a mother could make any 
one happier than she was. 

“ Well, Orpah, your work days are over, and 


orpah’s uncle. 


149 


I daresay you are glad of it,” said Miss Harris, 
wondering what the child was thinking about. 
“ At the same time you have learned a great 
deal that you will always be glad of, for it ’s no 
loss to any one, rich or poor, to know how to be 
handy around a house. I shall miss you, child.” 

Orpah went over to Miss Harris, and put her 
arms around her. 

“ I shall miss you, too,” she said affectionately. 
“ I hope my uncle will not go far away from 
here where I cannot see you sometimes. You 
have been ever so good to me.” 

“ I ’m glad you think so, child,” Miss Harris said, 
with as near an approach to a caress as she ever 
knew how to come. ‘‘ I might have been better 
to you if I had understood you better at first ; 
but I ’ve tried to make up for it since, and do my 
duty by you. Now you had better set the table 
for supper ; but there I forgot. You need n’t do 
it unless you want to.” 

“ It ’s lovely not to do things unless you want 
to,” cried Orpah, with a merry laugh, as she drew 
the table out from the wall. ‘‘1 am going to 
play that I am your little girl, and I am just 
doing it because I want to help you.” 

‘‘ You can make believe that you are visiting 
me till your uncle gets ready to take you,” said 
Miss Harris. “ I ’ll try and make you have a 


150 ruby’s' ups and downs. 

nice time, and I ’ll help you get fixed up real 
nicely. You shall have as pretty dresses as 
little Ruby Harper, and I will make them for 
you myself.” 

How lovely that will be ! ” Orpah exclaimed ; 
and then as she flew about like a busy little bee, 
getting the table ready for supper, and going 
with swift feet down into the cellar, out to the 
spring-house, and into the buttery, she sang like 
a happy little bird. 

She had some one to love her now. She won- 
dered what Ruby and Ruthy would say when 
they heard the good news. Orpah was sure that 
they would be glad, for they had been such kind 
friends to her, ever since that time when Ruby 
had made such a mistake about the button, and 
brought her into undeserved disgrace. 

“ I might have asked your uncle to stay to 
supper ; but there was n’t anything in the house 
that I liked to ask a stranger to set down to,” 
said Miss Harris, as Orpah helped her wash up 
the dishes after they had finished their meal. 

Won’t everybody be surprised when they 
hear that I have got an uncle?” Orpah said, 
hanging up the towel and pulling her sleeves 
down, for she always rolled them up when she 
was doing anything just as Miss Harris did. 

“ People will hardly believe it, for it ’s so long 


orpah’s uncle. 


151 


since any of liis folks heard from him that they 
always thought he was drowned. You’ll have 
plenty of friends now, Orpah.” 

‘‘ I sha’n’t forget those who were good to me 
when I had no one else, though,” said grateful 
Orpah, and then she ran down the road to meet 
her uncle, whom she saw coming. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


A NEW HOME. 

Orpah had expected to have the pleasure of 
telling her schoolmates herself about her new 
uncle, but when she reached school the next 
morning she found that the news of Mr. Bode- 
win’s return had spread over the neighborhood, 
and that the girls had all heard of it. 

Oh, Orpah, we heard and we ’re so glad ! ” 
Ruthy exclaimed as she saw Orpah come into 
the schoolroom, and Ruby said, as she too kissed 
Orpah, — 

“ Won’t it be lovely to get away from that old 
Miss Harris ? ” 

“ No, I don’t want to go away from her, 
honest,” Orpah answered. “ She ’s real nice to 
me ; and since I was sick that time, she never 
scolds me any more, and she helps me with my 
lessons in the evenings too. Of course I am 
glad that I ’ve got an uncle ; but I am not glad 
just because he is going to take me to live with 
him.” 


A NEW HOME. 


153 


“ I don’t see how you can possibly like her at 
all,” said Ruby. “ She has got such sharp eyes 
and such a cross mouth. Say, Orpah, do you 
think you will like your uncle ? ” 

“ Why of course I will,” Orpah exclaimed in 
surprise. Is n’t he my very own uncle, so how 
could I help liking him ? ” 

“ Is he awful rich, Orpah ? How much money 
has he got ? ” asked one of the other girls. 

“ I don’t know,” Orpah answered. 

“We heard that he had more than a million 
dollai*s, and that he was going to build the big- 
gest house in town, and get you a piano and 
everything,” said Mamie Brown. 

Orpah laughed. “ I don’t believe all that. I 
don’t care how much money he has ; but I don’t 
believe he ’s a got million dollars. That ’s ever 
so much.” 

“Our girl told Ma that she heard he had a 
big chest full of bars of solid gold, and when he 
wanted any money he just took one out and had it 
made into gold-pieces,” said another of the girls. 

Orpah found out before school began that the 
story had been spread that her uncle was fabu- 
lously wealthy, and that his wealth was supposed 
to be anywhere from a million dollars to a mine 
of solid gold from which he could take the 
precious metal whenever he wanted to fill his 
pocket-book. 


154 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


Some of the girls who had not been very 
kind to Orpah when she was only a “ bound 
girl ” were very anxious to make friends with 
her now ; and Mamie Brown, who had often said 
til at she would not play any games in which 
Orpah was going to take part, because ‘‘she 
worked for her living,” now asked her to play 
with her at recess. 

Ruby had heard her say so many times that 
she would not play with Orpah, and that “ bound 
girls ” ought not to be sent to school with other 
people’s children, that she hardly knew what to 
make of it when Mamie came over to the seat 
where Orpah was sitting with Ruby and Ruthy, 
talking about her new uncle, and, taking no 
notice of the other two girls, invited Orpah to 
come and eat lunch with her. 

“ I ’d rather stay here,” Orpah answered sim- 
ply, understanding Mamie’s sudden change of 
manner. 

Quick-tempered Ruby flashed out with a hasty 
speech. 

“ You ’re meaner than the meanest girl I ever 
knew, Mamie Brown. You only want Orpah to 
come and sit with you because she has got an 
uncle now and isn’t bound out any more. I ’d 
be ashamed to try to be friends with a girl that 
I did n’t like when she had n’t got any uncle, so 
I would ! ” 


A NEW HOME. 


155 


“ I wish you would mind your own business, 
Miss Ruby Harper,” said Mamie, angrily, not 
liking the accusation, which she felt in her heart 
was entirely true. 

“ It is my own business to stand up for Orpah, 
when you have always been so mean to her till 
to-day,” Ruby retorted ; and Mamie would have 
answered in the same angry tone if the teacher 
had not rung her bell just then. 

The next few days were very delightful ones 
to Orpah. She had often wished for pretty 
dresses when she saw other girls wearing them, 
but she had tried to be contented with her plain 
garments because she knew she could not have 
any other clothes. 

Miss Harris really seemed pleased to think 
that Orpah was to have a nice wardrobe ; and 
she took Orpah down to the store with her, and 
let her choose the dresses herself. Orpah had 
always thought that a crimson cashmere was 
the prettiest material for a dress that was possi- 
ble ; and the first purchase made with her uncle’s 
money was a pretty cashmere, which she could 
hardly believe was to be really her own. 

No little girl who has always had kind parents 
and a happy home can imagine what it was to 
lonely little Orpah to feel that she had some 
one to love her and make her happy. She had 


156 


ruby’.s ups and downs. 


never had anything pretty before in all her life 
in the way of clothes, and she carried the cash- 
mere dress home in her arms almost as lovingly 
as if it was alive, she was so pleased with it. 

I declare if you are n’t like another child,” 
said Miss Harris, as she watched Orpah go around 
all that day with a little hop and skip and jump, 
very different from her usual quiet ways. 

‘‘I am another child,” Orpah said with a 
merry laugh ; “ I ’m my uncle’s child, and I 
was n’t any one’s before.” 

After two or three weeks, when all the pur- 
chases that Miss Harris thought were necessary 
were completed, and Orpah’s new wardrobe was 
all ready to wear, there was not a more taste- 
fully clad little girl in town than she was. I 
am glad to say that Orpah was not in the least 
spoiled by all her happiness and prosperity. 
She was just as modest and gentle, and did not 
seem in the least vain because she had pretty 
clothes, although of course she enjoyed them 
very much, more than if she had always been 
accustomed to them. 

Mr. Bodewin had made up his mind to spend 
some time in the place ; and the old couple who 
lived in the house that had belonged to his father 
were very glad to have him bring Orpah with 
him and come there to board. 


A NEW HOME. 


157 


“ How would you like to take a little trip to 
New York, Orpali ? ” asked her uncle one day, 
when it was beginning to be near Christmas. 

Orpah opened her eyes wide. 

“ Do you mean it. Uncle ? ” 

“ Yes, indeed, child. Why not ? ” 

“But it’s so far away,” said Orpah. New 
York had always seemed as if it must be nearly 
at the other end of the world, though it was 
only a little more than half a day’s journey on 
the cars. 

“ It is n’t far for a man that has been half 
around the world and back again,” said her 
uncle, laughing at her surprise at the thought 
of such a trip. “ I have to go on there on busi- 
ness, and I thought maybe you would like to go 
with me and see the sights, and buy some 
Christmas presents for your friends while we 
are there.” 

“ Oh, it would be just perfectly lovely ! ” said 
Orpah. “ Only it seems too good to be true.” 

“ Good times are all I want you to have now- 
a-days,” her uncle said, giving the little hand on 
his arm a loving squeeze. 

So it was planned that Orpah should take a 
trip to New York with her uncle when he went 
the first of the following week. 

None of the other girls in school had ever 


158 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


been very far away from home, and not one of 
them had ever been to New York, so Orpah was 
looked upon with as much envy as if she had 
been expecting to take a trip to the moon. 

There was not one of the girls who did not 
wish herself in Orpah’s place ; and she had to 
promise over and over again that she would be 
sure to look at everything, and tell them all 
about it when she should come back again. 

Orpah had never been anywhere, not even to 
Watertown ; so it seemed even more to lier than 
to the others, and she talked and thought of 
nothing else but her trip from the time it was 
really decided that she was to go, until the day 
she started. 

Her uncle had given her a ten^dollar gold- 
piece to spend for Christmas, and it seemed like 
a perfect fortune to Orpah, who had never had 
ten cents at once in her life before her uncle 
came. She felt as if she would be able to buy 
everything in New York with such a large sum 
of money. 

Her uncle told her that she had better make 
out a list of the friends to whom she particu- 
larly wished to give Christmas presents, and 
then she would have a better idea how much she 
would have to spend upon each one. The list 
was a very long one at first ; but Orpah went 


A NEW HOME. 


159 


over it several times, and tried to keep upon it 
only those who had been her very kindest friends 
in the days when she had no one to take care of 
her. You may be sure that Ruby and Ruthy 
were upon this list, for no one had been kinder 
to Orpah than they had been, and she loved them 
with all her heart. 

“ Don’t it seem funny,” said Ruby to Ruthy 
one day. “ Just a little while ago we had every- 
thing and Orpah did n’t seem to have anything ; 
she was the very poorest girl I ever knew, for 
she did n’t have any relations nor a real home 
nor nice clothes nor anything, and now she ’s 
got more than we have got.” 

“ No ; there is something that we have that 
poor Orpah hasn’t got,” said Ruthy, quickly. 

“ What is that ? ” asked Ruby. 

“ She has n’t any papa and mamma,” Ruthy 
answered ; “ and they are the best things in the 
whole world, better than going to New York or 
ten-dollar gold-pieces or anything ! ” 

And Ruby agreed with Ruthy. 


CHAPTER XV. 


ruby’s charity. 

Ruby was keeping house, and she felt very 
important. Mamma and Papa had gone away 
for the afternoon ; and Ann had gone up to bed 
with the toothache and a flannel bag of hops ; 
and Ruby sat down by the sitting-room window 
feeling as if she was the housekeeper, and wish- 
ing that she knew something out of the usual 
course of things to do. 

“ I guess that ’s a gypsy woman,” said Ruby 
to herself, as she saw a woman coming up the 
road with a basket on her arm. She was a short 
rather stout woman, and her face was very 
brown, as if she was used to being out a great 
deal in the sun and wind. 

She had a little shawl on her shoulders, and a 
red handkerchief tied over her head. 

When she came to the house, she stopped and 
looked at it, and then seemed to make up her 
mind to come in. 

‘‘ I wonder what she wants,” thought Ruby, 


ruby’s charity. 


161 


as she slipped down from her chair and went 
over to the door. 

Ruthy would have been afraid to go to the 
door when a stranger was coming and she was 
all alone in the lower part of the house; but 
Ruby was never afraid of anything, so it did not 
occur to her to be afraid of this woman. 

“ Good-day, my pretty little lady,” said the 
woman, very politely, when Ruby opened the 
door as soon as she knocked. 

‘‘ She must bo a very nice woman if she is 
poor and has n’t any hat,” thought Ruby, who 
liked to be called “ my pretty little lady.” 

“ Will you walk in and sit down,” said Ruby, 
just as she had heard her mamma invite call- 
ers in. 

“ I wonder if I had better ask her into the 
parlor,” Ruby thought. “ I s’pose she won’t 
know but that this is our parlor, for it looks 
pretty nice.” 

‘‘ Thank you kindly, my sweet little dear,” the 
woman said, coming in very willingly, and sit- 
ting down by the fire. 

‘‘ I am very sorry my mamma is n’t in,” said 
Ruby. ‘‘ She has gone away with my papa, and I 
don’t know when they will be back.” 

The woman did not look at all sorry to hear 
that the little girl was alone. 

11 


162 ruby’s ups and downs. 

“ Well, of course when the lady has such a 
fine little Miss as yourself to leave in charge of 
the house, it is only natural that she should feel 
as if she could go off for little trips,’’ she said. 
“ I suppose you look after things for her nicely 
while she ’s gone.” 

“ Oh, yes,” said silly little Ruby, who was 
delighted with all this flattery, and thought that 
this woman, if she was poor, was one of the 
nicest women she had ever met. 

‘‘ I wonder if you would be so very kind as to 
give a starving woman a bit of something to eat 
now,” said the woman. ‘‘ I know how generous 
you are by your sweet face, which is the prettiest 
I ever looked upon, if you ’ll excuse me for say- 
ing so. before you.” 

‘‘ Of course I ’ll give you something to eat,” 
said Ruby, eagerly. “ I know my mamma would 
want me to.” 

“ Surely you are not all alone by yourself in 
the house, are you ? ” asked the woman. “ I 
should think you would hardly like to be all by 
yourself in this big house.” 

“ Oh, Ann ’s upstairs ; but she ’s got the tooth- 
ache,” said Ruby. 

“ And who might Ann be, my little dear ? ” 
asked the woman, in a very pleasant way. 

“ Why Ann ’s our hired girl,” explained Ruby, 


ruby’s charity. 


163 


“ she ’s got the toothache, so she went upstairs 
to take a little nap and see if she would n’t feel 
better. I guess she ’ll be down pretty soon.” 

“ Well, maybe she won’t be as kind and good 
as you are, and may not want to give a poor 
body a bit to eat,” said the woman. ‘‘ I hope you 
will give me something before she comes down.” 

‘‘ I guess Ann would give you something,” 
said Ruby. “ I heard her say tliat she did n’t 
like tramps ; but you ’re not a tramp, so she 
would n’t mind giving you something. Are you 
a gypsy ? ” 

‘‘ No, my precious little lady. What made 
you think that?” asked the woman. 

“ Oh, nothing,” Ruby answered, suddenly 
thinking that perhaps it had not been very polite 
for her to ask the woman if she was a gypsy, 
and the woman seemed to have such a high 
opinion of Ruby that she would not say any- 
thing rude to her for a great deal. I just 
thought maybe you was. I should think it would 
be very pleasant to be a gypsy and live in a 
tent,” she went on, trying to prove that she had 
not meant to ask a disagreeable question. 

They ’re only a bad lot, and not fit company 
for the likes of any one like you. Now won’t 
you please to hurry, my little lady, for I ’m so 
hungry that I don’t know what to do.” 


164 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


“ Did you have breakfast very early ? ” asked 
Ruby, as she went into the pantry with a very 
important air. 

“ Breakfast, bless you ! ” exclaimed the woman, 
“ I did n’t have a bite to eat all day yesterday, 
nor yet to-day. T ’m well nigh starved.” 

“ Oh, how dreadfully hungry you must be ! ” 
cried Ruby. “ I should think you would die ; 
I know I should if I had not had anything to eat 
for so long.” 

She looked about on the shelves and wondered 
what the poor hungry woman would like best. 
Ruby wanted to treat her very well, and she 
thought that perhaps she would like cake better 
than anything else ; but then if she had not had 
anything to eat for so long, maybe she had bet- 
ter eat something mgre substantial first. 

Ruby knew that Mamma would not let her eat 
cake the first thing in the morning, and of course 
if the woman had not had anything to eat it 
would be the same thing as eating cake before 
breakfast. 

‘‘ Will you please come in here and tell me 
what you would like best ? ” she said, looking 
out into the sitting-room. 

The woman had gone over to the table and 
was looking at Ruby’s patchwork, which lay in 
her little work-box. She dropped it very sud- 


ruby’s charity. 


165 


denly as Ruby spoke, and came over to the pantry- 
door. 

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the shelves 
with all their good things spread out before her. 

It was Saturday, and Mamma always got every- 
thing ready for Sunday dinner, as far as possible, 
on Saturday, so that there would not be much 
for Ann to do. There was a nice fat little tur- 
key, as brown and crisp as a roast turkey could 
be ; there was a big bowl of red cranberry sauce. 
Ann had made a nice iced cake, and there was 
a row of pies, mince and apple. 

No wonder the woman looked very much 
pleased when Ruby asked her what she would 
like to have to eat. 

Ruby had not meant to ask her to help herself 
to any of the Sunday’s dinner however. There 
was the bread-box full of nicely browned loaves 
of bread and rusk, and plenty of cookies, and a 
piece of cold roast beef, which Ruby had thought 
would make a very good meal for the hungry 
woman. 

“ Surely you are a blessed little angel, and the 
Lord will never let you come to want,” said the 
woman. “ I have seven little children all starv- 
ing at home. Miss, and if you would only let me 
fill up my basket, instead of stopping to eat any- 
thing here, I would pray for you till my dying 


166 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


day. I am worrying for fear they will be dying 
before I get back to them, they are so starved. 
Oh, if I might just put all these good things in 
my basket how happy they would be ! You don’t 
know what it is to have eight children crying for 
bread when you have n’t a bite for them ! ” 

“ I thought you said you had seven children,” 
said Ruby. 

“ Oh, well, I forgot to count in the baby the 
first time,” the woman said, lifting down the 
turkey and putting it in her basket. 

“ Oh, but that ’s our dinner for to-morrow,” 
said Ruby. 

“ Well, you have plenty more, and I ’m sure 
you would n’t grudge it to a poor woman with a 
starving family,” said the woman, tucking it 
snugly in so it would not take up much room. 
“ May your beautiful eyes never know what it is 
to shed a tear for something to eat ! ” 

Ruby liked the woman very much. No one, 
not even Mamma, had ever said such nice things 
to her, so of course she must be a very good 
woman, or she would not know how to speak so 
nicely. To be sure it was the Sunday dinner 
that she wanted to take ; but then if her family 
were so poor she needed it very much, and as 
she had said, there were plenty more turkeys 
and chickens out in the hen-yard. 


ruby’s charity. 


167 


When Ann’s toothache got better she could 
go out and kill another, and cook it for to-mor- 
row. Ruby was not quite sure that Ann would 
be pleased at having so much of her Saturday’s 
work to do over again, but still it was certainly 
right to help such a nice woman. 

‘‘ You ’d better take some bread to eat with 
your dinner,” said Ruby, opening the bread-box 
and lifting out a loaf of bread. 

“ And to think that you should be such a 
sweet little angel as to feed a starving family,” 
cried the woman, kissing Ruby’s hand as she 
held the bread out toward her. 

Ruby was more flattered than ever. Oh, what 
a very nice woman she was, to be sure ! Ruby 
would have been willing to have given her the 
house in return for all the compliments she 
showered upon her. 

The little girl made up her mind that she 
would give away the whole of Sunday’s dinner, 
for if Ann had some of it to cook over again, she 
might as well have all of it. 

She lifted out another loaf of bread and tucked 
it in the basket, and then handed the woman a 
pie. 

Even though she liked the woman. Ruby could 
not help thinking that she was rather greedy. 
She seemed to want everything that slie could 


168 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


put into her basket, and kept asking for more, 
as fast as Ruby gave her anything. 

“I s’pose it’s because she don’t know any 
better,” Ruby thought to herself, willing to find 
an excuse for any one who could say such nice 
things to her. 

It was wonderful how much that basket could 
hold ! Though it was a large one. Ruby had no 
idea that so much could be put into it. 

“ That jelly, now, would be so nice, my little 
lady,” said the- woman. 

“ Could you bring the bowl back again after 
the jelly was gone ? ” asked Ruby. 

“ Oh, yes. Miss, of course I would do that,” 
the woman said ; and so Ruby added the big 
bowl of jelly to the turkey, two loaves of bread, 
and the four pies. 

“ Now if you would give me that bite of cold 
meat, and a few of them little cakes, I could be 
taking a bite as I go along,” the woman said. 

Ruby did not like to refuse her, though she 
thought that this was decidedly greedy. 

“ Now good-by, and bless you, my beauty,” said 
the woman, going toward the door as fast as she 
could. “ I shall never forget your goodness, and 
though maybe I will never see you again — ” 

“ But you said you would bring back the 
bowl,” Ruby exclaimed. 



Kuby gives the Sunday Dinner to the 
Gipsy Woman. 




ruby's charity. 


169 


She was not quite satisfied with what she had 
done, and she felt if the woman failed to bring 
the bowl back, that Mamma would say that she 
had done very wrong indeed. The bowl was one 
which Ruby’s grandmother had had given to her 
on her wedding-day. 

‘‘ Oh, yes, I ’ll see you then, to be sure ; and 
I ’ll bring the children with me so that they can 
all see the beautiful little lady that kept them 
from dying. Good-by.” 

The woman did not wait for Ruby to open the 
door, but let herself out and went down the road 
a great deal faster than she had come. Ruby 
sat by the window and looked after her. 

‘‘ I don’t just exactly know whether I like her 
or not,” she said to herself, hoping that Mamma 
would come back before Ann should come down- 
stairs. Somehow she thought that it would be 
easier to tell Mamma, than to tell Ann, that 
the Sunday dinner was all gone, — yes, and the 
supper too, for Ann had meant to slice up the 
cold meat and have the nice fresh cookies. 

Ruby did n’t think that Ann would like it very 
well, and though Ann was very good-natured 
generally, when she was cross she was apt to be 
very cross indeed ; and she was almost always 
rather easily made cross on the days w^hen she 
had her toothaches. 


170 ruby’s ups and downs. 

“ She was very* greedy, for she just kept want- 
ing everything and more too ; but then I s’pose if 
she had eight children, she couldn’t help wanting 
a good deal. There are only seven though that 
eat anything, I guess ; for she said one was a 
baby, and the baby at Mamie Brown’s don’t eat 
anything, it just drinks milk. Well, of course 
it must take a good deal of food for seven chil- 
dren, especially if they are all starving. She was 
very polite about thanking me. I wonder what 
Ruthy will say when I tell her how the woman 
called me ‘ Miss ’ when she spoke to me. I won- 
der how old she thought I was. She talked as 
if she thought I was quite grown up, and a young 
lady. I do hope the bowl won’t get broken, for 
Mamma would feel so bad. I wish she hadn’t 
wanted the jelly so very particularly, and then I 
need n’t have given her the bowl. I wish I had 
put the jelly into something else. Well, I ’spect 
she will take good care of it, so I need n’t think 
about it. I ’spect Mamma will think about it 
pretty often though, till she brings it back ; for 
she ’s so particular about Grandma’s bowl.” 

Ruby did not feel very comfortable, and she 
sat down with her patchwork of her own accord, 
a thing she never did when everything had gone 
as it should. 

Where was her thimble ? Ruby looked and 


kuby’s charity. 


171 


looked for it. She took out everything in the 
basket, and shook out all her pieces of patch- 
work, and still it was not to be found. Perhaps 
she had put it down on the table when she took 
it off last, instead of putting it in her work-bas- 
ket, and she went over there and looked, but still 
no thimble. 

“ Oh, where can it be?” thought Ruby, des- 
pairingly. “ I would n’t lose my beautiful little 
thimble that Grandma gave me on my birthday 
for anything ! I do wonder where I put it ? ” 

Innocent little Ruby never suspected that her 
flattering friend might have helped herself to it. 

She was still looking for it when Ann came 
downstairs, looking much more cheerful than 
when she went up with the hop-bag. Her 
toothache was better. 


CHAPTER XYI. 


THE LOST THIMBLE. 

‘‘Why, what’s the matter, Ruby?” asked 
Ann, as she saw Ruby’s anxious face. 

“Ann, did you do anything with my thimble ?” 
asked Ruby, pulling a chair over to the mantel- 
piece to climb up on it and look on the high 
shelf for her thimble. 

“No, what should I be doing with your 
thimble ? ” asked Ann. “ You must have put it 
somewhere yourself when you took it off last. 
Where were you sewing the last time you had it 
on ? ” 

“ I was sitting here by Mamma this very after- 
noon, right after dinner, when she was waiting 
for Papa to harness up. She said I need only 
finish one square ; and when I got through with 
it, I put my work in my little basket, and I ’m 
just perfectly sure that I put my thimble there 
too. I am so careful of it, and I ’ve never left it 
lying around once.” 

“ There has to be a first time for everything, 
you know,” Ann said. “ You forget to put 


THE LOST THIMBLE. 


173 


other things away sometimes; so maybe you 
were thinking about something else, and left 
your thimble down on a chair and it fell on the 
floor. Have you looked on the floor for it ? ’’ 

“ No, I never thought of looking there,’’ Ruby 
said. 

‘‘Well that’s likely where it is,” said Ann, 
beginning to hunt for it. “ I hope no one has 
stepped on it.” 

“Wouldn’t that be dreadful?” exclaimed 
Ruby, looking all over the carpet to see if she 
could find a trace of her missing treasure. 

“Well, I’ve looked as well as I know how, 
and I don’t see anything of it,” said Ann, at last, 
after she had moved everything, and looked in 
all the corners for it. “ Where it can be, I can’t 
imagine ! You are sure you did n’t go out of the 
room with it on ? ” 

“ No, I have n’t been out of the room since 
Mamma went away,” Ruby answered. 

“ It ’s queer where it ’s gone then,” Ann said. 
“ There has n’t been any one here to run off 
with it, so I should think we would be able to 
find it somewhere.” 

Just then a remembrance of the woman flashed 
through Ruby’s head, but she did not say any- 
thing to Ann about the visitor she had had. Of 
course she would not have taken Ruby’s thimble 


174 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


when she admired the little girl so much, Ruby 
was quite sure of that, so there was no use in 
saying anything about her, for fear Ann w'ould 
find out about the missing dinner. 

“ Never mind about your thimble,” said Ann, 
as she noticed how quiet the little girl had 
become all at once, and thought that she was 
grieving over her thimble. “ Come out in the 
kitchen with me, and I will tell you a story 
about when I was a little girl. By and by, when 
you are not thinking about it, you will find it, 
for of course it must be somewhere about.” 

Ruby was not as much interested in the story 
as she usually was when Ann told her about the 
things she did when she was a little girl. She 
was too busy wondering what Ann would say 
when she found out that she had all Sunday’s 
dinner to cook over again. 

She began to be so unhappy over the loss of 
her thimble, and her anxiety about the dinner, 
that the tears came into her eyes. 

“ Why, what ’s the matter, child ? Are you 
sick?” 

Ann did not know what to make of the two 
big tears that slowly rolled down Ruby’s cheeks. 
It was a great relief to Ruby to find something 
to be cross about, and so she began to scold at 
Ann for calling her a child. 


THE LOST THIMBLE. 


175 


“I wish you wouldn’t say ‘child’ when you 
talk to me, Ann,” she said fretfully. “I am too 
big to have you call me ‘ child,’ just as if I was 
a little baby. I wish you would say ‘Miss’ 
when you talk to me.” 

“ Upon my word, if you are n’t getting too full 
of airs to live with ! ” exclaimed Ann, in amaze- 
ment. “ A little chit of a thing like you wanting 
to be called ‘ Miss,’ indeed. You had better wait 
till you can act like a young lady before you want 
to have people call you one. A little girl that 
gets into tantrums as easy as you do, has a lot 
to learn before she can be a young lady. What 
are you crying about anyway ? ” 

“ I want my thimble,” said Ruby. “ I wish 
people would n’t take my thimble and tilings, and 
put them wliere I can’t find them. People are 
always taking my things and hiding them ! ” 

“ Now you may go out of my kitchen,” said 
Ann, cross in her turn. “ I don’t want any one 
ill here who is as out of sorts, for nothing at all, 
as you are. Ruby Harper. I was sorry for you, 
and helped you hunt everywhere for your thimble, 
and here you are scolding and finding fault as if 
I had hid it away from you on purpose. Go 
right into the other room if you can’t be pleasant 
here.” 

“ I don’t want to stay here any longer,” said 


176 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


Ruby, going into the sitting-room with an angry 
flounce. The pantry was between the sitting- 
room and the kitchen, and as Ruby passed the 
door she hoped more earnestly than ever that 
Mamma would come home before Ann found out 
about the turkey. 

It was about time that Ann was killing an- 
other one, if they were to have turkey for dinner 
the next day ; but Ruby did n’t care whether they 
had any dinner or not. She was very unhappy, and 
wished that she had never seen the woman whom 
she had thought so pleasant a little while ago. 

Papa and Mamma did not get back as early 
as they expected, and Ann drew out the table 
and began to set it for tea. The table was 
always laid in the sitting-room, which was used 
for a dining-room as well. 

Ann might be quick-tempered, but she was 
always ready to make up again as soon as she 
had spoken her mind. She looked over at the 
little figure by the window, and thought that 
Ruby looked lonely. 

‘‘ Come on, we ’ll make up friends again. 
Ruby,” she said, trying to draw the little girl 
away from the window. “ You and me, we both 
have bad tempers, so we’ll have to improve 
them a bit.” 

Ruby twisted herself away crossly. 


THE LOST THIMBLE. 


177 


“ I just want you to leave me alone, Ann ! ” 

“Oh, very well then ; I ’m willing, I am sure,” 
and Ann went back to her work in not the very 
best of tempers. She was very fond of Ruby, but 
the little girl could be very trying sometimes. 

Ruby stood by the window, dreading every 
moment to hear the sound of the pantry-door 
turning on its hinges. What would Ann say? 

The table-cloth was on the table, and Ann had 
straightened it, and put all the dishes on. The 
very next thing would be that she would go to 
the pantry. Ruby knew as well as if she had 
been watching Ann when she walked over to the 
pantry. She opened the door, and it went back 
against the wall. 

There was an instant of horrified silence, and 
then Ann said slowly, but with a great deal of 
emphasis, — 

“ For the good land’s sakes alive ! ” 

Ann never said all that unless she was very 
much surprised ; and Ruby knew just how red 
her face was getting as she looked at the empty 
dishes. 

“ Ruby Harper, can this be some of your 
capers ? Where is the turkey, and all them pies, 
and the jelly in your ma’s best bowl, and the 
bread and everything ? Do you know ? ” 

“ I won’t tell you,” said Ruby. 

12 


178 


euby’s ups and downs. 


Now none of your capers, Ruby Harper, but 
just answer me ! Where is the Sunday dinner 
that was here when I went upstairs ? ” 

Ruby was silent. 

“ Did you just hide it for capers ? ” asked 
Ann, in a more gentle tone, realizing that per- 
haps the dinner was not hopelessly gone, but 
that it might be that Ruby had hidden it for mis- 
chief. It would be a very extraordinary piece 
of mischief, to be sure ; but then Ruby had done 
some very extraordinary things in her life. 

“ Please tell me. Ruby,” coaxed Ann, knowing 
that if Ruby should get an obstinate streak she 
would never know anything about the missing 
food until Mrs. Harper should come home. 

“ Well, I s’pose you will think it is awful, but 
it is n’t,” began Ruby. “ She was very poor, and 
she had n’t had anything to eat all day yesterday 
nor to-day ; and she had seven little starving 
children, not counting the baby ; and she wanted 
the things so that I gave them to her. She 
’preciated them very much, and she said she 
would surely bring the bowl back,” Ruby finished. 

Ann gave a snort of anger. 

“ Well, if you aint the beatenest young one, 
Ruby Harper ! If I was your ma, I guess I 
would try and teach you to behave better than 
you do ! Do you mean that you ’ve gone and 


THE LOST THIMBLE. 


179 


given all your folks’ Sunday dinner away, with- 
out leave, to some old beggar-woman ?” 

“ She was n’t a beggar-woman, she was a very 
nice woman ! ” said Ruby, indignantly. “ She was 
a great deal nicer than you are, Ann, and she 
had better manners, for she called me ‘Miss,’ 
and she said I was a pretty little lady, and 
you never say anything nice to me. You 
always call me ‘ Ruby,’ or ‘ child,’ and you never 
act as though you s’posed I knew anything at 
all. She was very hungry ; but that don’t make 
her a beggar.” 

“ I should think I would act as if you did n’t 
know anything,” said Ann, angrily. “ I should 
think you were lacking in born sense, to give 
away every bite of food that there is in the house ! ” 

“ It is n’t every bite, either,” said Ruby, 
defending herself. “ You are exaggerating, 
Ann ; and my mamma says it is as bad to exag- 
gerate as to tell a real story. She says it ’s just 
about the same thing.” 

“ She ’ll have something to say to you, my 
lady, when she comes home,” Ann answered. 
“ I have n’t any supper to get ; and what will 
your papa say to that, after that long ride.” 

Ann settled herself in her chair in the kitchen, 
too vexed to feel like trying to get anything else 
in place of the missing food. 


180 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


“ Ruby Harpe-r, you are the vainest child that 
ever lived,” she said. “ I believe that any one 
could get anything they wanted to out of you if 
they would only flatter you a little. Anyhow, I 
guess I know where your thimble is ! ” 

“ Where ? ” asked Ruby. 

“ It ’s gone off to keep company with the dinner 
and your mamma’s best bowl,” said Ann. ‘‘ It 
serves you right too, for cutting up so. You 
knew very well that you ought to have called me 
if there was a tramp around that wanted some- 
thing to eat. It ’s a wonder the woman did not 
steal you as well as the thimble ! ” 

“ She was n’t a tramp, and I don’t believe that 
she took my thimble,” Ruby answered. “ She 
was too nice to take a thimble that did n’t 
belong to her ; and I don’t believe that any 
one as polite as she was would do such a 
thing.” 

“ Where do you suppose your thimble is, if she 
did n’t take it ? ” asked Ann. “ I guess she could 
afford to be very polite when she got a turkey 
dinner, and your ma’s best pies in the bargain. 
What do you suppose we are going to do for 
dinner to-morrow ? ” 

“ I thought you would cook another dinner 
for us,” Ruby answered. “ I should think you 
would be glad that that poor hungry woman had 


THE LOST THIMBLE. 


181 


sometliing to eat, instead of being so cross ! I 
don’t believe you ’re a bit generous, Ann, or 
you would n’t mind getting another dinner for 
us.” 

Well, I like the idea of beginning to get a 
Sunday dinner at this time of day,” Ann said. 
“ I ’ll leave it to your mamma to say what she ’ll 
do about it ; but I suppose I shall have to hunt 
up something for tea.” 

“ Make some waffles,” suggested Ruby. 

“ Maybe I will, but it won’t be for the sake of 
your getting some of them,” Ann answered. 
“ I am sorry for your mamma and papa to come 
home cold and hungry and find nothing to eat, 
and so I will make something for them ; but as 
for you, if you are so willing to give away your 
Sunday dinner, it ’s only fair you should go with- 
out it. It ’s cheap giving, to hand over something 
that don’t belong to you, when you think you 
will have plenty more for yourself. When you 
get your mind made up that she ’s got that 
thimble, then you will begin to realize what you 
were doing.” 

Down in the bottom of Ruby’s heart she had 
begun to think that perhaps the woman had 
taken her thimble after all, for she remembered 
how she had seen her standing by the work- 
basket when she came out of the pantry, and 


182 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


she remembered how the woman had jumped 
when Ruby spoke to her. 

Could it be possible that any one who had 
called her a pretty little lady,” and praised her 
eyes, could have deliberately stolen her gold 
thimble ? It was too dreadful to believe ! 


CHAPTER XYII. 


EXPLANATIONS. 

Ann went back into the kitchen and began to 
make waffles, for it was nearly supper-time, and 
she knew that Dr. and Mrs. Harper would be 
home very soon. Ruby stood by the window 
and looked out into the twilight. It was grow- 
ing dark very fast, and she could hardly see as 
far as the gate. She wished that she knew where 
the woman was, and that she knew whether she 
had taken her thimble or not. 

“ When she comes, back with Mamma’s bowl, 
I am going to ask her^” thought Ruby. ‘‘ I do 
hope she will be careful with it. If that bowl 
should break, I don’t know whatever my mamma 
would do, nor my grandma either, it would 
take so long for another bowl to get as old as 
that bowl is now.” 

Just then Ruby heard the sound of a horse’s 
feet, and in another moment the carriage turned 
in at the gate, and Ruby knew her papa and 
mamma had come. She did wish that Mamma 


184 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


knew what she had done, for she hated to tell 
her, even though she was sure that she would 
not scold as Ann had done. 

Generally when Ruby was watching for her 
papa and mamma she would run to the door as 
soon as she heard them coming, and welcome 
them with a hug and a kiss ; but to-night she sat 
by the window, and did not move until she heard 
Mamma’s voice asking, — 

“ Why, where is Ruby ? ” 

“ Here I am. Mamma,” Ruby answered, going 
out into the hall very slowly to meet her mamma. 

‘‘ Why, what is the matter, dear ? ” asked 
Mamma, as she leaned over and kissed Ruby, 
and noticed how quiet the little girl was, and 
how sober she looked. 

‘‘ Nothing very much,” Ruby answered. 

“ Indeed and there is then,” said Ann, indig- 
nantly. I shall tell your mamma myself, if 
you don’t tell her. Ruby Harper.” 

“ Ruby will tell me all about it, Ann,” said 
Mamma ; and when she went upstairs to take off 
her things, she told Ruby to come up with her, 
and tell her what the trouble was. 

Ruby followed rather unwillingly. She knew 
that Mamma must know all about it ; but she 
did wish that she need not tell her herself. She 
would rather tell her, though, than have Ann 


EXPLANATIONS. 


185 


tell her, for Ann was not at all sorry for the 
poor woman and the hungry little children. 

“ If it was n’t for the bowl,” said Ruby to her- 
self, for she knew how much Mamma thought of 
the bowl, which had been in the family for so 
many years. 

‘‘Well, dear,” and Mamma sat down in her 
rocking-chair, and took Ruby in her lap. 

Mamma knew how much easier it was for her 
little girl to confess a fault when she was cud- 
dled up in Mamma’s lap and could hide her face, 
than if she had had to stand right up in the 
middle of the floor and own up to it. 

“ It sounds pretty awful to tell you about. 
Mamma dear,” said Ruby, with a little sob in her 
voice, “ particularly about the bowl ; but indeed 
it did n’t seem anything just at the time.” 

“ I know, dear,” said Mamma. “ My little 
girl does things without stopping to think, that 
she knows herself are wrong when she thinks 
about it afterwards. Tell me all about it. Ruby.” 

“ Well, I was sitting downstairs after you 
had gone, and Ann had gone upstairs with her 
toothache, and a poor woman came to the door. 
Mamma. She did n’t have any hat, but she just 
had a handkerchief, a red one, tied over her 
head, and she had a little shawl on ; and I tried 
to be polite to her, and I asked her to come in, 


186 ruby’s ups and downs. 

and told her that you and Papa were both out, 
and Ann was upstairs. Then she asked me 
for something to eat, and she was very polite, 
Mamma. She called me a pretty little lady, and 
she said ‘ Miss ’ when she spoke to me, and was 
just as pleasant as she could be ; and she told me 
that she had seven little children that had n’t 
had any breakfast nor anything to eat all day 
yesterday. She said eight next time ; but that 
was because she had n’t counted the baby in, the 
first time. I asked her to tell me what she would 
like to eat ; and 1 think she was rather greedy. 
Mamma, for she wanted everything that was in 
the pantry, and she said she guessed she would n’t 
stop to eat anything, but she would take it all 
home in her basket. She put everything in. 
Mamma.” 

“ What do you mean. Ruby ? Not everything 
that was in the pantry ! ” exclaimed Mamma. 

“ Well, not quite everything,” said Ruby, “ but 
she took the turkey, Mamma. I told her that it 
was for our Sunday dinner, but she seemed to 
want it so that I let her have it ; and then she 
said I was generous, and 1 did n’t want to be 
stingy after that, so I gave her the pies and two 
loaves of bread, and then she wanted the jelly, 
and so I had to let her have it. I thought that 
was very greedy in her, for she had so much 


EXPLANATIONS. 


187 


already, but I did n’t like to say No, so I gave it 
to her ; and then she wanted some cookies and 
the cold meat. You would n’t have thought that 
she could get so much into her basket, Mamma ; 
but she did.” 

“ Ruby, do you mean that you gave away all 
our Sunday dinner ? Why, my dear child, what 
were you thinking about ? Why did you not ask 
Ann what to give the woman ? You know the 
dinner was not yours to give away.” Ruby 
hung her head. 

“ I did n’t want to ask Ann, Mamma. The 
woman thought I was so grown up and was tak- 
ing care of the house while you were away ; and 
so it would have looked as if I was only a little 
girl after all, if I had had to ask Ann what she 
could have to eat. Besides she said such nice 
things that I wanted to give her the things my- 
self, and let her see that I was generous.” 

“ Darling, you think that you gave the woman 
the food because she was hungry and had so 
many little hungry children, don’t you ? ” 

“ Yes, Mamma, of course that was what I gave 
the things to her for,” Ruby answered. 

“ I am afraid you are mistaken, dear ; I don’t 
think that was the reason, though it may have 
had something to do with it.” 

“ Why, Mamma Harper ! what do you mean ? ” 


188 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


exclaimed Ruby. ‘‘ What would I give the things 
to her for, if it was n’t because she was so dread- 
fully hungry ? ” 

“ I am afraid it was because she flattered you, 
and you wanted to have her say some more nice 
things to you,” Mamma answered. “ If it had been 
only because you wanted to have her have some- 
thing to eat, I think you would have been willing 
to have called Ann, and asked her what the woman 
should have. I am afraid that my little girl 
wanted to show off, and was thinking of herself 
instead of the woman. If she had not called 
you a pretty little lady, and pretended to think 
so much of you, would you have been so anxious 
to give her all that she wanted ? ” 

“ No, ’m, I don’t s’pose I should,” said Ruby. 
“ But it was so nice to act grown up. Mamma, 
and just give her things as if I was the house- 
keeper ; and she did say the very nicest things 
that any one ever said to me. Nicer even than 
you say to me. Mamma, though of course she 
don’t love me so much. She certainly promised 
to bring back the bowl the cranberries were in, 
or I should n’t have let her take it. It was your 
bestest bowl. Mamma, that you think so much 
of, that belonged to Grandma.” 

“ Oh, Ruby, she did not take that, did she ? ” 
asked Mamma, in dismay. 


EXPLANATIONS. 


189 


‘‘ Yes, Mamma ; I thought you knew that when 
I told you I gave her the cranberries,” Ruby 
said. “ I told her to be sure and bring it back, 
and she told me she would.” 

“ I am afraid that she will not keep her 
promise,” said Mamma. “Do you know who 
the woman was. Ruby ? Did she tell you where 
she lived, or what her name was ? ” 

“ No, ’m ; but she said she was n’t a gypsy,” 
Ruby answered. “ I asked her that. Mamma, 
for I heard there was a gypsy camp down by the 
creek last week, and I thought she might be one 
of them. She looked like a gypsy, she was so 
brown.” 

“ Now, Ruby,” said Mamma, “ I never Want 
you to give away anything again without asking 
some one who is older and wiser than you are. 
Little girls do not know what to give, nor to 
whom to give. If the woman was hungry, I 
should of course have wanted her to have some- 
thing to eat, and I have told Ann never to send 
any one away that is hungry ; but it was not 
necessary to give her our Sunday dinner. I am 
very sorry, too, about the bowl that you know I 
prize so highly. It may be that the woman will 
keep her word and come back, but I am afraid 
that she will not. A woman who would take 
advantage of finding a little girl alone, and take 


190 


euby’s ups and downs. 


things that she knew I would not have given her, 
will not prove to be very honest, I fear.” 

‘‘ Oh, Mamma, you don’t think she would 
steal ? ” asked Ruby, in frightened tones. ‘‘Ann 
thinks she took my thimble ; but 1 would n’t 
believe it of her, for she talked so nicely.” 

“ Why, is your thimble gone ? ” asked Mamma ; 
and then Ruby told her how she had missed it, and 
had looked everywhere for it without finding it. 

“I am very much afraid she has taken it, if 
you could not find it after all that looking for 
it,” Mamma said. 

Ruby burst into tears. 

“ I think she was a very mean woman, Mamma, 
if she would call me a pretty little lady, and 
then go and steal my thimble while I was look- 
ing for something for her to eat ! ” 

“ Ruby dear, you will find as you grow older 
that people who flatter you are not your true 
friends; and though they may not always use 
you as badly as I am afraid this woman has 
done, yet you can never depend upon them for 
true friendship. I want you to learn not to be 
so eager for praise. Try to do right just because 
it is right, but not because you want to be praised 
for doing it.” 

“ But I like to be praised,” said Ruby. “ I 
think I like it better than anything. Mamma.” 


EXPLANATIONS. 


191 


“ I know you do, darling, and that is why I 
want you to try to overcome your love of it. It 
leads you into trouble sometimes, and makes my 
little girl seem very unlovely. Now will you 
promise not to do such a thing again, as you 
have done this afternoon ?” 

Yes, Mamma,” and Ruby held her face up 
to Mamma for a kiss. ‘‘ But do you think Papa 
can get your bowl and my thimble back again 
from that bad woman?” 

“ I hope so ; but I cannot tell anything about 
it,” Mamma said. “ Perhaps if she belonged to 
that gypsy wagon, she may have gone away 
already, for fear the constable might come after 
her. Now I must go downstairs and see about 
something to eat for to-morrow ; I am afraid we 
shall not have very much to eat.” 

“ Mamma, it don’t seem fair, does it ? ” asked 
Ruby. 

“ What does n’t seem fair ? ” asked Mamma. 

“ That I should be the one to do all the bad 
things ; and then that you and Papa have to feel 
bad about it. Now if it was just me that would n’t 
have anything much for dinner to-morrow, it 
would be fair, because I gave our dinner away ; 
but you and Papa will have to go without too.” 

“ That is something else you will learn as you 
grow older,” said Mamma. “ One person cannot 


192 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


do wrong without others suffering for it, and it 
is generally the ones we love most who have to 
suffer. If my little girl will only learn from 
this experience not to be so eager to do whatever 
comes into her head, without waiting to consult 
any one, I shall not mind the loss of the dinner.” 

‘‘ I ’ll try. Mamma,” said Ruby, as she gave 
Mamma a hug. 

' ‘‘ That is all we can do, — any of us do, — dar- 
ling,” Mamma answered, as she kissed her little 
girl, and went downstairs. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


LOOKING FOR THE THIEF. 

As soon as supper was over, Dr. Harper went 
out to the barn and harnessed the horse, and 
started off at once to see if he could find the 
woman who had come to the house that after- 
noon. 

It was not the loss of the dinner which annoyed 
him, as much as the loss of Ruby’s thimble, which 
could not be found anywhere, and the bowl which 
Mrs. Harper prized so highly. 

“ I think she must have belonged to that 
gypsy camp, from what Ruby says about her,” 
he said. “ And I shall drive down there and 
see if they are there still. Perhaps if they are, 
I may get the things back again.” 

“ The turkey too ? ” asked Ruby, eagerly. 

“ No, my dear ; we shall never see that turkey 
again,” Papa answered. ‘‘If the seven small 
children are really there, they have finished it up 
all but the bones by this time, and if not, probably 
some one else has been enjoying it. I mean the 
13 


194 ruby’s ups and downs. 

thimble and bowl ; 1 shall be quite satisfied if I 
can recover those.” 

He drove away in the darkness, and before 
he came back it was time for Ruby to have her 
Saturday night bath and go to bed. 

Dr. Harper drove down to the field where the 
gypsies had encamped, but there were no traces 
of them except some freshly charred sticks, which 
looked iis if they might have been there very 
recently. 

The nearest neighbors told him that the wagon 
had only moved away that afternoon ; and when 
Dr. Harper heard that, he had but little doubt 
that it was one of the gypsy women who had 
visited his house that day. 

The women had been dressed in shawls, and 
wore handkerchiefs over their heads ; and there 
was no other beggar around who had been seen 
asking for food. 

The gypsies always had the name of being 
very dishonest, and it was more than probable 
that the woman had stolen Ruby’s thimble, and 
that the camp had moved away at once to pro- 
tect her from discovery. They knew that they 
would get quite a start before the theft would 
be discovered, and it was not likely that they 
would be pursued on Sunday. By the time 
Monday morning came they would be so far on 


LOOKING FOR THE THIEF. 


195 


their way that they would scarcely be overtaken 
unless it should be by a very determined person ; 
and in that case they would conceal the woman 
who had committed the theft. 

“ I am afraid we must give the things up as 
hopelessly lost,” Dr. Harper told his wife, when 
he came home. “ Poor little Ruby will grieve 
over the loss of her thimble. I brought home 
what I could get for our missing dinner, and 
though beef will not be quite as good as turkey, 
we will make the best of it.” 

Ruby had been very sure that her papa 
would somehow manage to find out the thief, 
and she was very much disappointed the next 
morning when she woke up to hear that the 
woman was probably miles away, and that there 
was no hope of the recovery of the stolen 
thimble. 

“ But don’t you think she will keep her prom- 
ise and bring the bowl back ? ” Ruby asked, 
putting Mamma’s loss before her own, for once. 
She felt that if she had done as she should, 
neither the thimble nor the bowl would be 
missing. 

“No, dear ; I don’t think she meant to keep 
that promise when she made it,” Papa answered. 
“ Next time don’t believe people so readily, just 
because they flatter you. People generally have 


196 ruby’s ups and downs. 

an axe of their own to grind when they say such 
things.” 

She did n’t have any axe. Papa,” said Ruby. 
“ I know she did n’t, for I should have been sure 
to have seen it if she had.” 

Papa laughed. 

“ I did n’t mean a real axe, dear. It is an 
expression that means that people have an object 
of their own to carry out, instead of meaning all 
they say.” 

Ann was very indignant to think that the 
thief had escaped. 

“ The mean thing, to come here and humbug 
an innocent little thing like Ruby ! ” she said 
wrathfully. “ I wish my old tooth had n’t been 
aching, and she would have had somebody to deal 
with that would n’t have been taken in so easily.” 

“ You would have been pleased too, Ann, if 
she had been so very polite and had called you 
a pretty little lady,” said Ruby, not liking to 
think that she had been more easily imposed 
upon than any one else would have been. 

“ I guess she would n’t have called me any 
such nonsense as that,” Ann answered. 

‘‘Well, I don’t suppose she could, for you 
certainly are not very pretty,” said Ruby, 
truthfully. 

“ Well, there ’s better things than being pretty 


LOOKING FOR THE THIEF. 


19T 


in this world,” Ann said, not very well pleased 
at Ruby’s speech. “ Anyhow I would n’t be 
flattered into giving away everything that there 
was to eat in the house.” 

“ Well, 1 wish you wouldn’t talk so much 
about it,” said Ruby, wishing that she had never 
seen the woman. “ I guess I had the worst of 
it anyway, for I lost my thimble, and I feel so 
bad about Mamma’s bowl. I think she was the 
meanest woman I ever knew not to keep her 
promise.” 

“ It was n’t any meaner than to take your 
tliimble when you were busy getting her some- 
thing to eat,” Ann said. “ I wish she could be 
caught and punished for it. It makes me mad 
to think that she will get off and maybe do the 
same thing again, somewhere else.” 

“ I should think she would be so miserable, 
Mamma,” said Ruby to Mamma Sunday evening, 
when she was sitting by Mamma’s side, listening 
to the little Sunday talk which always got Ruby 
started right for the week. “ When I do any- 
thing bad, I feel as if I had a great rock in me, 
my heart feels so heavy, and I could n’t possibly 
be happy again until you knew all about it. I 
should think she would feel so badly every time 
she looked at my thimble that she would have to 
send it back to me after a while.” 


198 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


‘‘ I don’t suppose she will keep it very long, 
dear,” Mamina answered. “ She will probably 
sell it as soon as she comes to a town where 
they will buy it from her. She may not dare to 
offer it very near here, because it has your name 
on it ; but when she gets far enough away from 
here, she will liave no trouble in selling it, and 
then she will have the money to spend. The 
thimble would not be of any use to her, except 
to sell, because it is too small for her to use.” 

“Won’t she feel bad to think that she took 
it away from me ? ” asked Ruby. 

“I am afraid not, dear,” Mamma answered. 
“ When people keep on doing wrong their con- 
sciences become hardened, and they do not feel 
so badly when they do wrong ; and after a time 
they do not hear the voice of conscience any 
more, and do not have any unhappy feelings to 
remind them when they have been wicked.” 

“Is n’t that the most comfortable way ?” asked 
Ruby. 

“ No, darling ; for then any one can keep on 
going farther and farther from the right way 
without any reminder to help him to be good. 
The little voice of conscience is given to us to 
keep us from doing wrong. If you could be 
naughty, and be just as happy without telling me 
about it and asking forgiveness, you would soon 


LOOKING FOR THE THIEF. 


199 


stop caring whether you were good or not. It 
is only people who have done Avrong so much 
tiiat they have silenced the voice of conscience 
that commit great crimes, and are sent to prison. 
If when they were little children they had 
stopped doing wrong every time their conscience 
spoke to them, they would never have gone so 
far astray. I hope you will never be able to 
do wrong without being very unhappy over it, 
darling.” 

“ I don’t want to get so I don’t care if I am 
bad,” said Ruby, earnestly, “ for then I might be 
wicked enough not to care whether I stole little 
girls’ thimbles from them or not. But, oh. 
Mamma, I don’t see how that bad woman could 
ever have taken it when I was trying to be good 
to her, and when she had called me a pretty 
little lady ! ” 


CHAPTER XIX. 


THE THREE DOLLS. 

Among the presents that Orpah brought back 
with her from the city were three dolls that 
were far prettier than any doll that the girls at 
school had ever seen. Almost every girl had a 
rag doll, and some of them had pretty china 
dolls with very red cheeks and very blue eyes. 

The china dolls were the best dolls that any 
of the girls had ever owned ; but when Orpah 
was in New York her uncle bought her a doll 
that seemed a perfect marvel to her. 

It was a wax doll with a soft pink and white 
complexion, and there were two very wonderful 
things about it that made it seem almost alive 
to Orpah. It would shut its eyes when it was 
laid down. It had brown eyes that looked as 
if they could see, they were so clear and pretty, 
and when Orpah took the doll in her arms and 
laid it down, as if she was going to put it to 
sleep, suddenly the lids closed over the eyes, and 
it was as fast asleep as any baby could be. 


THE THREE DOLLS. 


201 


Orpah had never even heard of a doll that 
would open and shut its eyes, and she was so 
happy when her uncle gave it to her that she 
could hardly find any words with which to 
thank him. He knew very well how pleased she 
was, though, and would not have asked any 
other thanks than the grateful look of love that 
she turned upon him. 

There was something else about the doll that 
Orpah had never heard of before, and that was 
almost as wonderful as the eyes. It had real 
hair, brown and silky, that hung in beautiful 
curls about its shoulders. 

“ Uncle, is a doll like this very expensive ? ” 
asked Orpah, shyly, as they looked about the toy 
store with all its marvels and wonders. 

“ Well, it did n’t cost a fortune nor yet was it 
very cheap,” said Uncle Jack. “Why did you 
ask, dearie ? ” 

“ Well, it is so beautiful that I thought it 
would be such a perfectly lovely present to take 
to Ruby and Ruthy, if I could get one for each of 
them. I am sure they never have seen one like 
it any more than I had, and I think I would enjoy 
mine more if I could give them each one too.” 

“ Bless your dear little generous heart, so you 
shall,” said Uncle Jack, and going back to the 
counter where the wax dolls were sold, he bade 
Orpah select two more. 


202 ruby’s ups and downs. 

Some of the dolls were blondes and had the 
most beautiful blue eyes and long golden hair, 
and the others were dark, like the one Orpah 
had selected. She liardly knew which Ruby and 
Ruthy would like best, but Uncle Jack helped 
her to decide. 

I would n’t get all three just alike,” he said. 
‘‘ You might get them mixed up some time and 
not be able to tell your children apart. Ruthy 
has fair hair, has n’t she ? ” 

“ Yes, Uncle Jack.” 

“ Well, then, get her a doll to match herself. 
One of these blonde beauties would be just the 
thing for her ; and for Ruby I would get a dark- 
haired one, and that will just suit her, I am sure. 
Then you can tell the dolls apart by their resem- 
blance to their little mothers.” 

Accordingly Orpah chose two dolls, one with 
dark, and one with light hair, and enjoyed her 
own treasure all the more because she knew that 
her gifts would give such pleasure to her two 
little friends. 

She enjoyed sight-seeing in the great city very 
much, and most of all enjoyed spending her ten- 
dollar gold-piece in the stores where the only 
perplexity was to decide among all the beautiful 
things which to buy for her friends. 

She got a pretty work-box for Miss Harris, 
which she was sure would please her more than 


THE THREE DOLLS. 


203 


anything else she could bring her, and some 
smaller remembrances for her other friends. 
Although the ten-dollar gold-piece had seemed 
like a fortune to her when she first left home, 
she found that it soon vanished ; and Uncle Jack 
had to come to the rescue before she finished 
getting presents for all that were on her list. 

Uncle Jack declared he had not had as nice 
a time for years and years, as he did now in 
helping Orpah get ready for Christmas; and 
she felt as rich as a queen with all the pretty 
presents he gave her for herself. 

They spent a week in New York ; and Orpah 
saw all the sights of that great city, though she 
was sure that she would not remember half of 
them when she should begin to tell the girls 
about her trip. 

The night she got home she was eager to un- 
pack and look at all her purchases, and although 
Christmas was only two weeks off, yet it seemed 
as if she could never wait until the day should 
come to give Ruby and Ruthy their dolls. 

The next morning wdien she went to school, 
the girls clustered about her, eager to hear all 
that she could tell them of what she had seen 
and what she had done during her absence. It 
was not until the noon recess that Orpah found 
herself alone with Ruby and Ruthy, and then she 


204 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


could not quite keep her delightful secret any 
longer. 

I did n’t mean to tell you, but I can ’t keep 
it ; I feel as if I should just bubble over with 
it,” she said to her two friends. “ I have got 
the loveliest Christmas present for you. I know 
I ought n’t to say that it is lovely when I got it 
for you myself ; but it is lovely, for it is just like 
one Uncle Jack gave me.” 

“ Oh, what is it ? ” asked Ruby, eagerly. 

I must n’t tell you till Christmas,” she' 
answered. “ Uncle Jack says I had better not 
even play with mine until then ; because if you 
should see it, then yours would n’t be quite such 
a surprise to you. I don’t see how I am ever 
going to wait until Christmas. It seems as if I 
should tell you in spite of myself.” 

“ I wish you would,” said Ruby. “ I don’t see 
how I can wait either, Orpah, for it ’s most two 
weeks off till Christmas.” 

“Oh, it is so lovely,” said Orpah. “If you 
love yours as I do mine, you will be as happy — 
well, as happy as I am ; and I can’t say any more 
than that.” 

That afternoon she said to Uncle Jack when 
she went home from school and opened the 
boxes in which the lovely dolls were nestled, 
“Uncle Jack, how do you think it would do to 


THE THREE DOLLS. 


205 


give any one their presents without waiting for 
Christmas to come ? ’’ 

“ Why ?’’ asked Uncle Jack. 

“ Because I don’t see how I can ever wait 
until Christmas to give Ruby and Ruthy the 
dolls. I can wait easy enough for all the other 
presents ; but I could hardly get through school 
to-day without telling them, and Ruby says she 
can hardly wait either.” 

Uncle Jack laughed. 

“Then you have been telling her something 
about it already, have you ? ” he asked. 

“ Not what it was,” explained Orpah. “ I 
only told her that I had a lovely Christmas 
present for her, and that it was like one you gave 
me. I did n’t say any more than that, but of 
course she wanted to have me tell her what it 
was.” 

“ Well, if it would make you happier to give 
them the dolls now than to wait, suppose you do 
it,” said indulgent Uncle Jack, who did not care 
what Orpah did, as long as she was happy. If 
she had proposed keeping Christmas that very 
afternoon he would have consented. 

“ Oh, can I take them up to the girls now ? ” 
asked Orpah. 

“ Yes, if you like,” said Uncle Jack ; and 
happy Orpah started off with her treasures, one 
box under either arm. 


206 ruby’s ups and downs. 

She stopped at Ruthj’s house ; but as usual 
Ruthy had gone over to see Ruby, so Orpah went 
on to Mrs. Harper’s to find them both. 

“ What do you think ? ” she exclaimed, as Ruby 
and Ruthy came, to the door to meet her, 
“ Uncle Jack says I may give them to you this 
very day, and I am so glad, for I don’t know 
how I could ever have waited until Christmas ! 
Oh, look quick, for I don’t know how to wait 
another moment ! ” 

Ruby and Ruthy were quite as eager as Orpah 
herself over the treasures in the boxes, and when 
the covers were lifted off, and the beautiful dolls 
were before their eyes, they fairly screamed with 
delight. Like Orpah, they had never imagined 
such lovely dolls, much less seen them, and as 
to actually owning them, why it seemed too good 
to be true. Orpah was as happy in giving them 
to her little friends as they were in receiving 
them ; and it would have been hard to find three 
happier children than they were. 

Ruthy’s doll was dressed in a beautiful blue- 
silk dress that made her golden hair seem fairer 
than ever, and Ruby’s doll had a pink-silk dress 
on, all trimmed with lace. The children were 
having a delightful time playing with their new 
treasures, when Mamie Brown came in to see 
Ruby for a little while. Orpah and Mamie were 



Orpah gives Ruby and Ruthy the Dolls 




THE THREE DOLLS. 


207 


not very good friends ; for after Mamie found that 
she could not become more intimate with Orpah 
than Ruby and Ruthy were, she had gone back 
to her old dislike of her, and never lost any 
cliance of saying something disagreeable about 
people who had never had anything, but had been 
beggars all their lives, until some one was found 
to adopt them. 

Mamie could not help admiring the dolls ; but 
she was more sorry than ever that she had not 
made friends with Orpah before her uncle came 
to find her. If she had only been kind to her 
when she had been a little bound girl without so 
many other friends, then Orpah would have loved 
her and would have brought her a beautiful doll 
too. Although she would not admit that she 
wanted a doll like the new ones, yet she was very 
envious of them, and felt as if she could never 
be happy again until she had one. This feeling 
of envy made her wish that she could say some- 
thing to disturb Ruby’s delight in the possession 
of her doll. Every one loved Ruthy, she was so 
gentle, and even Mamie was never anything but 
kind to her, though she could be very disagree- 
able to the other girls when she wanted to be, 
and that was very often I am sorry to say. 
Mamie knew that it was very easy to make Ruby 
unhappy by making her think that some one else 


208 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


had something nicer than she had ; and so after 
Orpah had gone, Mamie took up Ruthy’s doll, 
and looked at it again. 

“ What a beauty this doll is,” she said admir- 
ingly. ‘‘ I never saw such a lovely doll in all my 
life ! ” 

“ Mine is just as pretty,” said Ruby, quickly. 

Much as she loved Ruthy she could not bear 
to think that Ruthy should have anything pret- 
tier than she had herself. 

“ Do you think it is ? ” asked Mamie, rather 
scornfully. 

« Why, of course it is ! Don’t you think so 
too ? ” asked Ruby, anxiously. 

“ No, this one is ever so much prettier.” 

Oh, Mamie, I don’t think that there is any 
difference, except that one is fair and the other 
dark,” said Ruthy, knowing how unhappy Ruby 
would be if she was persuaded that there was 
any difference in the beauty of the two dolls. 

“ The light one is a great deal the prettiest, 
though,” said Mamie. “ I don’t think that dolls 
with dark hair are one bit pretty. All the china 
dolls mostly have black hair, and it ’s sort of 
common. I wonder why Orpah didn’t bring 
them both alike. I suppose she wanted to bring 
Ruthy the prettiest one.” 

Poor foolish little Ruby ! all her happiness in 


THE THREE DOLLS. 


209 


lier doll was gone, for the ugly demon of jealousy 
had crept into her heart. She did not want to 
admit to Mamie, however, that she thought 
Ruthy’s doll was the best. 

Of course Orpah did not want to get both 
alike,” she said, putting her doll back in its box, 
and shutting it up. She loves me just exactly 
as well as Ruthy, or maybe better, and she 
would n’t ever think of such a thing as trying to 
get Ruthy the prettiest doll. She meant mine 
to be just ’xactly as pretty ; and it is too, Mamie 
Brown, and all you don’t think so for, is because 
you have n’t got one yourself. You ’d be glad 
enough if you had a doll like mine ! ” 

“ No, I would n’t,” said Mamie. “ If I could n’t 
have a doll like Ruthy’s I would n’t want any at 
all. I think it is ever and ever so much the 
prettiest ! ” 

“ You have n’t got good taste, Mamie Brown,” 
said Ruby, angrily. 

‘‘ I ’ve got better than you have, if you think 
that old doll is so pretty,” said Mamie, disagree- 
ably. “ I am going home. Ruby Harper, and I 
am never going to come to see you again. You 
are the crossest girl I know, and I don’t see 
what Ruthy likes you for. Good-by, Ruthy,” 
and Mamie went out, banging the door behind 
her as she went. 


14 


CHAPTER XX. 


ruby’s mistake. 

“ I WISH that hateful Mamie Brown never 
would come here again,” said Ruby, fretfully. 
“ I can’t bear her, and she is always making me 
mad about something.” 

‘‘ Indeed, I think both the dolls are just as • 
pretty as they can be,” said Ruthy, earnestly. 
“ Mine is n’t one bit prettier than yours, Ruby ; 
and I know Orpah did n’t try to get one prettier 
than the other.” 

“ You just say that because you have got the 
prettiest one,” said Ruby. “ If I had the pret- 
tiest one, I s’pose I would talk that way too.” 

“ Oh, Ruby, indeed I don’t think that mine is 
the prettiest ! ” Ruthy said earnestly. 

‘‘ Will you change then ? ” asked Ruby, quickly. 

Ruthy hesitated. 

“ I ’d rather not change,” she said. “ Please 
don’t want to change. Ruby dear.” 

“ But why won’t you change if you think that 
mine is as pretty as yours ? ” asked Ruby. “ That 


ruby’s mistake. 


211 


just shows that you think that you have got the 
prettiest one, for all you won’t say so, Ruthy 
Warren. I think you might change, so 1 do ! ” 

There was a very decided look upon Ruthy’s 
face as she held her doll closely to lier. 

Ruby, how could I change ? ” she said plead- 
ingly. “ I love my dolly already, and I could n’t 
give lier away and love another just as much. 
If Orpah had given me that dolly first, I would 
just as soon have had her ; but I could n’t give 
her away now. And anyway, I don’t think it 
would be very polite to Orpah to change dolls 
after she gave us these, and got the light one for 
me, and the dark one for you.” 

Ruby’s face grew very dark, and Ruthy knew 
that she was vexed. 

“Then you love the dolly more than you do 
me, do you ? ” she said crossly. “ I did think 
that you would do a little thing like that for me, 
so I did ; and now I won’t believe that you love 
me a single bit. I won’t have you for my best 
friend any more, but I will get one of the other 
girls.” 

Ruthy burst into tears. 

“ Oh, Ruby, I don’t want to change ! ” she 
sobbed; “but I do love you, and you know I 
do!” 

“ What is it that Ruby wants you to do, my 


212 ruby’s ups and downs. 

dear ? ” asked Mrs. Harper, coming into the room 
just then, in time to overhear Ruthy’s last words. 

. “ Nothing much, Mamma,” said Ruby, quickly, 
rather asliamed of herself. 

Ruthy did not like to answer ; so Mrs. Harper 
drew Ruby over to her side. 

“ What is it that you want. Ruby ? ” 

“ I just wanted her to change dolls. Mamma,” 
Ruby said slowly. “ She says hers is just as 
pretty as mine, so I think that she might be 
willing to change.” 

“ Why do you want to change. Ruby ? ” asked 
Mamma. 

“ Because hers is the prettiest,” confessed 
Ruby. 

“Why, Ruby dear, would you be so selfish?” 
asked Mamma, in grieved tones. “ I think that 
both of the dolls are equally pretty. I never 
saw a doll as pretty as either of them, and any 
little girl ought to be very happy to have either 
the dark or the fair one ; but even if you do 
think that Ruthy’s is the prettiest, would you 
want to take it away from her ? ” 

“ I want the prettiest,” said Ruby, sullenly. 

“ Come into my room till we talk about it 
a little while,” said Mamma, leading her little 
daughter into her room, and shutting the door. 

“ I don’t want to talk about it,” said Ruby, 


KUBY’S MISTAKE. 


213 


pouting out her lips, and looking as cross as a 
little girl could possibly look if everything in the 
world had gone wrong with her. 

“ But I want you to,” said Mamma. “ Dar- 
ling, are you going to be naughty and selfish 
again, when you have been such a dear little 
comfort for the last few days? You love Ruthy, 
don’t you?” 

“ Sometimes I do,” said Ruby, who did not 
feel as if she loved any one but herself very 
much just then. 

“ Oh, Ruby, you do not mean that ! ” said 
Mamma. “ You always love her, just as much 
as if she was your dear little sister, and you 
know how she loves you. Now I am sure, if you 
stopped to think about it, you would not want to 
take her doll away from her.” 

“ Well, I will give her mine,” said Ruby. 
“ It ’s fair enough to change.” 

“ It would n’t be right to change, when Orpah 
gave the dolls to you,” said Mamma. ‘‘ It 
would n’t be polite to her.” 

“ Now you are just saying that because Ruthy 
did,” pouted Ruby. 

No, I am not, dear, for I did not hear what 
Ruthy said,” Mamma answered. “ But you know 
that if you brought a friend a present, you would 
not like to have her change it for something that 


214 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


you had given some one else. Besides the dis- 
courtesy to Orpah, though, there is another 
reason why I would not be willing to have you 
change dolls. I would not let you be so selfish 
as to take away what you thought was the best 
from Ruthy, and give her something that you 
did not prize as much in exchange. Now remem- 
ber, Ruby, even if you persuade Ruthy to change, 
I will not allow you to. You must keep the doll 
that Orpah brought for you. It is such a beau- 
tiful doll. Ruby, that I should not have believed 
that there would be room in your heart for any 
feeling but that of happiness.” 

I did like it till Mamie Brown said Ruthy’s 
was the prettiest.” 

“ Well, dearie,! am sorry if any one could put 
such a foolish thought into your head so easily,” 
said Mamma, with a little sigh. “ Now will you 
be my good little daughter, and go and enjoy 
your pretty doll, and stop thinking envious 
thoughts ? ” 

Ruby iiid not answer. 

“ I will leave you to sit here a little while by 
yourself, and think it over,’' said Mamma, grieved 
at the sullen look on the little face she loved so 
dearly. 

“ When you are ready to be good, then you 
can go back to your play with Ruthy.” 


ruby’s mistake. 


215 


Ruby knew in the very bottom of her heart 
that she was selfish, and that she was making 
her dear mamma unhappy, when she had never 
meant to bring that sorry look into her eyes 
again, and she did have a little tiny wish to be 
good springing up among her selfish thoughts; 
but the little good thought was so weak and the 
bad thoughts were so strong that they quite 
smothered the wish to be good, and Ruby sat 
there for some time in Mamma’s chair and pouted 
and sulked, and thought herself the most badly 
used little girl she had ever heard about. 

She grew tired of the loneliness after a while, 
though, and wanted to go and play with Ruthy 
again. She knew it was of no use to ask her to 
change dolls ; for even if she could have persuaded 
her to, she was quite sure that her mamma 
would not permit it. She would go back to the 
sitting-room and get Ruthy to put her doll away, 
and they would play something else instead. 

Ruby was not ready to be really good, but she 
was willing to put away her sulkiness for a time 
and enjoy herself, so she opened the door and 
went back to Ruthy. 

‘‘Let’s put the dolls away and play with 
something else, Ruthy,” said Ruby. 

Ruthy felt as if she could hardly bear to put 
her beautiful new dolly out of her arms for even 


216 


kuby’s ups and downs. 


a moment, but' she was unselfish enough to be 
willing to put aside her own pleasure for the 
sake of making Ruby happy, so she did not 
object, but put her dolly away in its box, and laid 
it beside Ruby’s in the bureau-drawer upstairs. 

She had come to stay all night, so the two 
little girls had a very pleasant time after supper, 
popping corn. When Ruby could forget about 
the dolls entirely, she was very pleasant ; and 
when she was a little fretful at the remembrance 
that she could not have her own way about 
them, Ruthy was so patient that no one could 
have quarrelled with her. It always takes two 
to make a quarrel, you know, and Ruthy never 
was one of the two, so she could not very easily 
be drawn into any dispute. There was nothing 
that Ruby enjoyed more than having Ruthy 
come to stay all night with her; and after the 
two little girls went up to bed they had a grand 
frolic. 

When at last they had quieted down and said 
their prayers and got into bed. Ruby started up : 

“ My, that pop-corn makes me as dry as a 
fish ! ” 

Ruthy laughed. 

“ Fishes are n’t very dry. Ruby.” 

“ Yes, they are,” Ruby answered, for she 
would never give up anything that she had said. 


ruby’s mistake. 


217 


“ They are dry inside, for did n’t you ever watch 
a goldfish ? They go up to the top of the water 
and keep opening their mouths ever so often ; 
I have seen them.” 

“ Well, that is only when they have eaten up 
all the air in the water, and can’t get any more ; 
it is n’t because they are thirsty,” said Ruthy. 

“ Oh, don’t be such an arguer ! ” said Ruby, im- 
patiently, jumping out of bed and putting on her 
slippers. That was Ruby’s favorite way of stop- 
ping an argument when she was getting the 
worst of it, to complain that some one else 
argued too much, and end the talk in that way. 
“ Are you thirsty, Ruthy ? Shall I bring you 
up some water ? ” 

“ No, thank you,” said Ruthy. 

Ruby ran downstairs, and going out into the 
kitchen stood upon tip-toe and reached down the 
tin dipper and helped herself to a drink of water. 

Ruthy had been longing to kiss her beautiful 
doll good-night, and as soon as Ruby had started 
downstairs, she jumped up and went over to the 
bureau and opened the drawer. 

It was dark, but she did not care about seeing 
the doll ; it was only to kiss it that she was 
anxious, so she drew out the box, which was at 
the back of the drawer, and lifting off the cover 
pressed her lips against the waxen face. 


218 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


Just then she heard Ruby coming upstairs, 
and as she did not want to bring up the subject 
of the dolls again, as she knew it would only 
make Ruby cross, she hurriedly put the cover 
of the box on and tried to put the doll back 
before Ruby should come into the room. 

The box would not go back in the same place ; 
so she pushed the other box to the back of the 
drawer, and slipped her own in front of it. 
Then she scampered across the room in her little 
bare feet and was in bed again before Ruby 
came in. 

“ I drank and drank till I nearly emptied the 
dipper,” said Ruby. “ I believe I could drink 
a river dry to-night, I am so thirsty.” 

“Wouldn’t it be nice if lemonade came in a 
well just as water does ? ” said Ruthy. “ I do 
love lemonade.” 

“ So do I,” answered Ruby. “ Yes, I wish we 
had a well of lemonade, and I wish we could 
plant sponge cakes, and have a tree grown up 
that would have sponge cakes on it just as trees 
have apples grow on them. Wouldn’t it be 
funny to go out in the garden and find little 
sponge cakes getting ripe, and hanging on little 
stems.” 

“ There would be only one thing about it that 
•^ould n’t be nice,” said Ruthy. 


ruby’s mistake. 


219 


“ What would that be ? ’’ asked Ruby. 

« Why, then we would n’t have any sponge 
cakes in winter. We could only have tliem in 
summer when it was warm; and I like sponge 
cakes in winter too. I like them any time.” 

“ Well, don’t you know that apples grow on 
trees, and yet we have them in winter ? ” said 
Ruby.. “We could gather them when they were 
ripe, and put them away to eat in winter.” 

“ I don’t believe they would be very nice then,” 
Ruthy answered sleepily. 

“ Why ? ” asked Ruby. 

“ Because they would be so stale then. How 
do you s’ pose a cake would taste after it had 
been baked all winter?” 

“Well, maybe if they grew on a tree they 
would n’t get stale,” said Ruby, ready to defend 
her point. “ I wish I had a sponge-cake tree 
anyhow, Ruthy ; and if you did n’t like my sponge 
cakes you need n’t eat any when you came to see 
me. I wish I had a little garden-bed where I 
could plant pies and turnovers and little pud- 
dings, and I wish — Ruthy, are you going to 
sleep already ? ” 

Ruthy did not answer, and Ruby put her hand 
over and felt Ruthy ’s face. If her eyes liad 
been opened I am afraid Ruby’s fingers would 
have gone into her eyes ; but they were fast shut, 
and Ruthy had gone to dreamland. 


220 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


‘‘ She went tb sleep dreadful quiek, I think,” 
said Ruby, rather discontentedly. “ I am not one 
single bit sleepy yet ; I wish she had stayed 
awake so I could have talked to her. I guess I 
will wake her up. Ruthy, wake up ! ” 

But Ruthy was fast asleep and did not hear. 
Ruby shook her a little, and Ruthy stirred and 
tried to open her eyes. 

“ It is n’t time to get up yet, is it ? ” she asked 
drowsily. “ It is all dark.” 

“ It is n’t anywhere near morning yet,” Ruby 
answered. “ We’ve only just gone to bed, and 
here you have gone to sleep without talking any 
at all hardly. Can’t you wake up and talk ? ” 

“ Yes, I ’ll try,” Ruthy answered obligingly ; 
but she was too sleepy, as soon as Ruby began 
to talk she went fast asleep again, and when 
Ruby waited for an answer there was only 
Ruthy ’s quiet breathing in response. 

“ Oh, dear,” said Ruby, impatiently, as she 
realized that there was not any use in talking to 
Ruthy any more that night, “ I wish I was 
sleepy too. I don’t think Ruthy is very pplite 
to go to sleep so quick when she ’s company ; 
she ought to have waited for me.” 

Ruby tossed restlessly about. Down in her 
heart were still the bitter, jealous thoughts that 
she had forgotten for a time, but had not tried 


ruby’s mistake. 


221 


to drive out, and now in the stillness they all 
came back again. 

“ I want the prettiest doll,” thought Ruby to 
herself ; and she began to wonder if there was 
any way in which she could carry her point. “ I 
think Orpah might have given me my choice of 
the dolls, instead of picking out which she would 
give me and which one she would give Ruthy. I 
think that old Mamie Brown is just as hateful as 
she can be, anyway ! I do believe she only said 
that just to plague me, for I know she would think 
it was the prettiest doll in the world if it was 
hers instead of mine.” 

If foolish Ruby could only have made up her 
mind that Mamie’s motive was simply to make 
her dissatisfied, and if she had determined to be 
pleased with her doll, all the rest of what I have 
to tell you might have been avoided, and then 
both Ruthy and Ruby would have been spared 
a great many unhappy hours ; but Ruby could 
not make up her mind to be -contented with her 
gift, and she felt as if she must change with 
Ruthy whether Mamma would let her or not. 

‘‘ Oh, dear, I am just perfectly miserable ! ” she 
said to herself as she tossed about. “ I shall 
never be happy again unless I can have the doll 
with the light hair ; I would just rather not 
have any doll at all, than not have the one I like 


222 


kuby’s ups and downs. 


best. I wish R'uthj had just changed without 
saying anything about it, and then perhaps 
Mamma would have been willing. She fussed 
so much about it that I s’pose Mamma did n’t 
want to have her feel bad over it. I do b’lieve 
my mamma likes Ruthy better than me anyhow, 
for she never scolds her ; and her own mamma 
never scolds her either. I don’t see why not ; 
I am always getting scolded for something. I 
don’t b’lieve my mamma loves me, or she would 
want to make me happy ; and she knows I will 
never be happy again as long as I live and 
breathe with that ugly old doll ! I don’t think I 
like Ruthy much, she is so selfish.” 

Oh, Ruby, who was the selfish one ? 


CFTAPTER XXL 


ruby’s mistake {concluded). 

The more Ruby indulged in her naughty 
thoughts, the more unhappy she became of 
course ; and after a while she felt as if she 
almost disliked the dear little friend who was 
sleeping so peacefully beside her. When Ruthy 
rolled over and threw her arm about Ruby, as 
she had a little loving fashion of doing in her 
sleep, Ruby tossed her arm off quickly. 

“ I just wish you would keep your arms to 
yourself,” she said crossly ; but Ruthy was asleep 
and did not hear the unkind words. 

“Oh, dear, what shall I do?” she thought 
over and over again. “ I just won’t let Ruthy 
have that doll with the light hair, and if I can ’t 
have it, I would just like to break it all up into a 
thousand little teenty weenty bits of pieces and 
throw them down a well. I wish Orpah had not 
brought any dolls home at all, since she would n’t 
give me the prettiest one.” 

It hardly seemed possible that Orpah’s beauti- 
ful gifts, that she had selected with so much love 


224 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


for her friends, could have aroused such angry 
feelings. Mamie Brown would have been per- 
fectly satisfied with her work, if she could have 
known what a storm of jealousy she had aroused 
in Ruby’s heart. 

There was no longer the least feeling of 
pleasure in being the possessor of such a beau- 
tiful doll; Ruby’s only feelings were those of 
anger and unhappiness. 

I wish I could stop the story here, and not tell 
you what a wicked thought came into Ruby’s 
head. I am afraid you will feel as if you could 
not love her when you read what a cruel thing 
she did ; and yet after all poor naughty little 
Ruby punished herself more severely than any 
one else would have punished her for her 
naughtiness. 

Ruby often said that she knew it was easier 
for Ruthy to be good than it was for her, and 
really with her quick, passionate temper, her love 
of praise, her vanity, and her natural selfishness, 
Ruby did have more enemies to conquer than 
Ruthy, who was so gentle and unselfish that it 
was never any effort for her to give up her own 
way or make another happy. 

If that day any one had told Ruby what she 
would do that evening, she would not have be- 
lieved them. Indeed, I expect that she would 


ruby’s mistake. 


225 


have been very angry at any one who would have 
thought that she could do such a thing. She did 
not know how far wrong one’s bitter, jealous 
feelings will lead one, if they are indulged in. 

“ I wish something would happen to Ruthy’s 
doll so that it would not be pretty any more,” 
she thought ; and then the next thought was still 
worse. “ I wish I dared do something to it ! ” 

If Ruby had only stopped there, and realized 
how far her anger was leading her, all might 
have been well even then ; but instead of trying 
to banish the wicked thought, she went on think- 
ing in the same naughty way. 

“I will do something to it, and spoil it for her. 
She is mean and selfish not to change with me, 
and she just deserves to have her doll spoiled. 
I will do something dreadful to it, so it will never 
be one single bit pretty any more. It is all her 
own fault, for if she had just changed dolls with 
me, without fussing so over it, I would n’t have 
ever thought of doing anything.” 

Angry as she was. Ruby did not get up at once 
to carry out her purpose. It seemed such a 
dreadful thing to spoil the beautiful doll that 
dear little Ruthy had so carefully put away in 
the drawer, because Ruby did not want to see it. 
Ruby was not sorry for Ruthy, she was too 
angry at her ; but the doll was so beautiful, and 

15 


226 ruby’s ups and downs. 

she wanted it so much for herself, that she did 
not want to spoil its beauty until she was sure 
that there was no way by which she could get it 
for herself. 

“ Well, it’s no use wishing for it,” she said at 
last. “ I know Mamma would n’t let me have it 
now ; for she never lets me liave anything after 
she says No. What will I do to it ? I want to 
spoil it somehow, so Ruthy won’t think it is 
pretty any more.” 

She lay still and thought for a little while; 
and then a plan came into her head. 

There was a nail lying on the bureau, she 
knew. She had put it there herself when they 
came up to bed ; for she had had it in the even- 
ing trying to get some pop-corn off the ear, and 
then had dropped it in her pocket. When she 
was getting undressed, she felt it, and took it 
out of her pocket and put it on one end of the 
bureau. It was where she could put her hand 
on it in the dark. 

She would take this nail, and open the drawer 
softly, uncover the doll and scratch its pretty 
face with the sharp point of the nail. It would 
be very easy to do it all without a light, for she 
knew just where the dolls were, and there was 
no danger of making a mistake and scratching 
the wrong doll. 


ruby’s mistake. 


227 


Ruby and Ruthy had put them away together ; 
and Ruthy’s was in the back of the drawer, and 
Ruby’s in the front. 

“ I guess Ruthy won’t think that her doll ’s the 
prettiest when she wakes up in the morning and 
finds its face all scratched,” said Ruby to her- 
self, triumphantly. “No one will think that I 
did it, either, for nobody knows that I am awake. 
Folks will think that a mouse did it ; for once 
the mice did get into these bureau drawers and 
nibbled a little hole in Mamma’s bag. I will 
never get blamed for it; and of course nobody 
would suspect me of doing such a thing, when 
Ruthy and I are special friends.” 

Any one would have thought that just this 
remembrance of their friendship would have 
kept Ruby from doing this cruel thing ; but she 
was in such a wicked frame of mind now that 
she did not care wliat she did, if she only accom- 
plished her purpose of spoiling the beautiful doll 
that could not be hers. 

She crept out of bed very softly, so that she 
would not waken Ruthy ; there was no danger, 
for Ruthy was sleeping very soundly, and was 
dreaming of her new treasure. 

There was a board in the floor which always 
creaked if any one stepped on it ; and Ruby very 
carefully avoided this board, lest Mamma should 


228 


euby’s ups and downs. 


hear her from downstairs, and should come up 
to see what she was doing out of bed so late. 
Ruby did not have any idea what time it was ; 
but she generally went to sleep as soon as her 
head touched the pillow, and it seemed as if she 
had been tossing about for hours and hours. 

‘‘ I wonder what time Papa and Mamma go to 
bed anyway ? ” thought Ruby, as she heard their 
voices downstairs. 

She reached the bureau without making a 
sound, and carefully opened the bureau drawer 
where the dolls were. 

There were the two boxes side by side, she 
could feel them. Ruthy’s was the farthest from 
her, she knew ; and lifting off the cover, she put 
her hand on the doll’s face. Oh, if the voice of 
conscience had only spoken so loudly then that 
she would have had to listen to it whether she 
wanted to or not ! but it is a littlp voice that is 
very soft and low, and if we do not want to listen 
to it we can easily silence it. 

All that Ruby thought of, was how to be sure 
to spoil the doll, and holding the sharp point 
downward, she marked backward and forward 
across the face with it. She could feel the little 
marks it made in the soft wax, and she knew 
that her purpose was accomplished. She would 
push one of its beautiful eyes in too, she thought ; 





Kuby tries to spoil Rutiiy’s Doll. 



ruby’s mistake. 


229 


but just as she was feeling for it, to push the end 
of the nail against it, she heard a sound in the 
lower hall, and she was afraid her papa and 
mamma were coming up to bed. 

She must not be caught, for she did not want 
any one ever to know what a wicked thing she 
had done ; and so she hastily put the cover on 
the box, and crept across the room like a thief, 
and got into bed again. A more unhappy little 
girl could not have been found anywhere than 
Kuby was then.' She had done what she wanted 
to, — she had ruined Ruthy’s doll ; but she 
would have given anything she had, if she could 
have undone her naughty work. 

She suddenly realized what a mean, cruel 
thing it had been to do, as she had not realized 
it when she was planning her naughty work ; 
and she was more sorry for it than for anything 
wrong she had ever done before in all her life. 

It was something that could not be undone 
too. Nothing could ever take the deep marks 
out of the doll’s beautiful face ; and nothing 
would ever comfort poor Ruthy when she should 
wake up in the morning and see what had 
happened in the night. 

If she should ever find out that Ruby had done 
the cruel deed, she would never be able to love 
her again, nor be friends with her. Ruby felt 


230 ruby’s ups and downs. 

as if she could never forgive herself, and she 
knew no one else would ever forgive her. 

I wish I could die,” she said to herself, with 
the tears rolling down her cheeks. “ I am the 
wickedest girl that ever lived, and I wonder that 
my mamma don’t hate me. She would be just 
discouraged with me, if she knew what I had 
done now. She would say, ‘ Ruby, it ’s no use 
trying to help you to be good, you are too 
wicked ; you may go and live at the poorhouse 
for all I care. I don’t want anything to do with 
you again, as long as you live and breathe.’ I 
wish she would do something awful to me. I 
was always glad that she did n’t shake me nor 
whip me as Mamie Brown’s mamma does ; but I 
just believe that ’s what she ought to do to me ; 
I deserve anything. What shall I do ? 1 shall 

just die, I am so miserable. I wish I could be 
good. If I had n’t done such a dreadful thing 
as this, I would honestly try to be good, if I 
never had a nice time any more ; but now it ’s too 
late. I can never be good enough for any one 
to love me after this. Oh, what shall I do?” 
Poor Ruby, it was too late now to wish that 
her naughty deed was undone, for the doll was 
ruined ! 

“ I could give Ruthy my doll, but that would n’t 
be the same thing to her, for she loved her own 


ruby’s mistake. 


281 


doll, she said she did, and that was why she 
did n’t want to change ; and my doll would n’t be 
her doll anyhow. 1 can’t do a single thing to 
make things any better. I don’t want Mamma 
ever to know it, it would make her too sorry. 
To-morrow she will be so sweet to Rutliy, and 
she will say it was a mouse, and how sorry she 
is ; and she will hold Ruthy in her lap when she 
cries, as of course she will cry, when she sees 
what a dreadful thing has happened to her doll. 
I don’t know what she would say if she knew it 
was me. 1 s’pect Mamma would just cry her 
eyes out she would be so sorry then. Oh, dear!” 

Ruby had been very naughty, she had done a 
mean and cruel thing; but one good thought 
came to her now, and she did not drive it away. 
She determined that she would go right down- 
stairs and confess to Papa and Mamma what a 
wicked thing she had done, and let them punish 
her as she deserved. If they never loved her 
any more, and Ruby did not . see how they pos- 
sibly could, it would be just what she deserved ; 
and if they should send her away somewhere 
else to live she would go without saying a word. 
No one ever again would think that she was a 
good girl, no one would ever praise her again for 
anything, but every time any one looked at her, 
they would say, — 


232 ruby’s ups and downs. 

“ There is that wicked Ruby Harper ; how 
dreadfully her papa and mamma must feel to 
have such a wicked child ! ” 

She remembered how sorry people had been 
for old Mr. and Mrs. Hotchkins when their son 
was arrested for stealing, and how every one had 
pitied them for having such a bad son ; and that 
was what people would say now about her papa 
and mamma. 

She got out of bed and went downstairs, wish- 
ing in the very depths of her heart, as she passed 
the bureau, that she had not done such a dread- 
ful thing. She wished that she had scratched 
her own face instead. Of course it would hurt, 
but then the scratches would heal up some time. 
Papa would put something upon them to heal 
them and make them well ; but no one could ever 
heal the scratches on the poor doll’s face. 

If she had done anything else, but this wicked, 
wicked thing ! Papa and Mamma were down- 
stairs in the sitting-room, just thinking about 
going upstairs to bed, when they heard footsteps 
on the stairs, and looking up saw Ruby coming 
into the room, with tears raining down her cheeks, 
and an expression of the most utter wretched- 
ness upon her face. 

“Ruby darling, what is the matter?” ex- 
claimed her father, coming toward her, and 


ruby’s mistake. 


233 


Mamma started up too ; but Ruby held out her 
hands to wave them back. 

“ Don’t touch me, Papa, nor don’t you either, 
Mamma. I wish you would kill me or whip me 
or do some awful thing to me, I am so bad ! ” 

“ What is the matter with the child ? ” said 
Papa, half frightened at the talk which seemed 
so wild to him ; but Mamma was used to Ruby’s 
penitent times, and she knew that she was not 
sick nor dreaming, but that she had been doing 
something wrong, and that her conscience would 
not let her rest till she had confessed it. 

“ Come here, dear,” she said, taking the little 
girl up in her lap and throwing a shawl around 
her. You will take cold if you stand there in 
your night-dress. Now tuck your feet in under 
the shawl, and don’t shiver so. What have you 
been doing. Ruby ? Tell Papa and me all about 
it.” 

“ Kiss me first, and you too. Papa,” cried poor 
miserable Ruby. “ You will never kiss me 
again after I tell you, and I don’t spect you to. 
You will wish I was all dead, or you will send 
me away from you to live.” 

“ Hush, dear, don’t talk that way,” said her 
mamma, tears standing in her own eyes as she 
saw Ruby’s grief. “ Try to tell us what you 
have done.” 


234 


RUBY'S UPS AND DOWNS. 


‘‘ Well, you know 1 wanted to change dollies 
with Ruthy, and you wouldn’t let me,” began 
Ruby. 

“ Yes, dear.” 

“ After we went to bed, and Ruthy went to 
sleep, I began to think about it ; and the more I 
thought about it the more I could n’t bear to let 
Ruthy have the prettiest doll. I thought I would 
rather we had no dolls at all than that Ruthy 
should have the one I wanted. I knew you 
would n’t let me change, ’cause you had said so ; 
and I got so mad. Mamma, that I wanted to do 
something to spoil Ruthy ’s doll so’s she wouldn’t 
have th^ prettiest one any more.” 

Ruby stopped to wipe her tears, which were 
falling fast. 

“ Oh, I did such a wicked thing. Mamma 1 I 
don’t believe any one in all the world ever did 
such a thing before ! I must be as wicked as the 
people that get put in prisons and hung, or I 
could never have done it. I got out of bed, and 
I took a nail that was on the bureau, and I just 
scratched the dolly’s face all up. 1 knew which 
was Ruthy’s, for I remembered which side her 
box was when we put the dolls away, and we 
have n’t touched them since, because I did n’t 
want to play with them any more. I made such 
dreadful scratches all over her pretty face, 


ruby’s mistake. 


235 


Mamma, and now I am so sorry, I just feel as if 
I wanted to have you do something dreadful to 
me. What shall 1 ever do. Mamma ? I am so 
sorry I feel as if my heart was just breaking in 
two. Honest I do, and I can’t make it any 
better, no matter what I do ; for giving Ruthy my 
doll won’t be like hers, and those scratches have 
made her doll just entirely spoiled. Maybe you 
won’t believe me. Mamma, for I ’ve said so such 
lots of times, but indeed I am so sorry that I 
don’t believe I ’ll ever do anything wrong again 
as long as I live. I know you and Papa can’t 
ever love me again, and, oh, I don’t know what 
to do I am so sorry ! ” 

“ Rebecca Harper, I should not have thought 
that a child of mine could have done such a 
contemptible thing ! ” said Papa, angrily. “ I 
should think you would be sorry ! I never heard 
of a child having such a jealous disposition as 
you have, in all my life ; I don’t know what it 
will lead you to some day. I am sure I don’t 
know what is to be done with you, to break you 
of your ugly ways. I would n’t have had you do 
such a thing as that to Ruthy’s doll, for the sake 
of all the dolls in the world ! ” 

Ruby rarely saw her papa angry ; and never 
but once before in all her life had he been angry 
with her. When she had brought such misery 
upon poor little Orpah by her hasty words and 


236 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


unjust suspicions, he had been angry at her ; but - 
even then he had not spoken to her in such a 
manner. 

If her mother had not drawn her more closely 
to her while her father was talking, Ruby thought 
that she would have cried her eyes out with 
sorrow. 

She knew that she deserved blame and punish- 
ment, and she had thought that she wanted her 
father and mother to do something to her ; but 
she felt as if she could not bear her father’s 
indignation, though she knew that it was well 
merited. 

“ Papa ! Papa ! ” she cried, holding out her 
hands to him. “ I want to die if you won’t let 
me be your little girl any more. I know I am 
just as wicked as I can be ; but, oh, don’t talk to 
me that way ! I can’t bear to have you angry at 
me. I don’t care what you do to me ; but do love 
me a little. If you only knew how sorry I am ! ” 

Her father lifted her in his arms. 

“ There, there, little daughter ! ” he said more 
gently. “ I don’t want to be hard on you, and 
you know very well how Papa loves you ; but I 
can’t bear to think that you will do such naughty 
things. I want you to be good, and it hurts me 
very much to think that you could do such a 
thing as that.” 


ruby’s mistake. 


237 


Ruby clung to him, and sobbed bitterly. 

“ I can just ’magine how you feel,” she said. 
“ If I had a little girl like me, I don’t bdieve I 
could love her one single bit.” 

Her father wrapped the shawl about her more 
closely as she shivered, and put her back in her 
mother’s lap. 

I am so sorry. Ruby,” she said ; and when 
Ruby looked up at her, she saw that great tears 
were standing in her mother’s eyes. 

“ Oh, Mamma ! ” she exclaimed ; “ are you 
crying because I am so bad ? Please don’t! I 
can’t bear to think I made you cry with my 
badness. Oh, please don’t cry. Mamma I ” 

“ I wonder if you really scratched the doll as 
badly as you thought,” said her father ; and going 
quietly up into the room, so as not to disturb 
sleeping Ruthy, he brought down both the dolls. 

He lifted the covers off the two boxes as he 
put them down on the table ; and Ruby lifted 
her head from her mother’s shoulder to look at 
her work. 

“You see how dreadfully it looks,” she said; 
but as her eyes fell on the box in which Ruthy’s 
doll was lying, she uttered a cry of joy. Its 
beautiful face was as fair and smooth as when 
Ruthy had kissed it good-night ; and there was 
not a mark nor scratch upon it. 


CHAPTER XXIL 


HOW IT HAPPENED. 

Perhaps nothing in all Ruby’s life will make 
her any happier than she was when she saw that 
she had failed to carry out her naughty plan as 
she had intended. It was her own doll that was 
lying there with its face all deep scratches and 
cuts, but Ruthy’s was uninjured. 

Ruby could not understand how she had made 
the mistake, for she was very sure that she had 
reached over to the box that was farthest away 
from her when she had scratched the doll ; and 
she was equally sure that Ruthy’s doll had been 
put there. She did not see how it could have 
been moved ; but nothing could have made her 
happier just then, than to find that she had not 
hurt Ruthy’s doll after all. 

Her father and mother were as glad as she 
was ; and for some time Ruby forgot to be sorry 
that her own doll was spoiled, she was so glad 
that Ruthy’s was not injured. 

She took Ruthy’s doll up in her arms and 
kissed it tenderly. 


HOW IT HAPPENED. 


239 


“ I am so glad I did n’t hurt you,” she said to 
it as she put it back into the box. 

Then she turned to her own. Her eyes filled 
again with tears as she looked at the poor face 
with all its beauty gone. 

“ My poor dolly,” she said sorrowfully. “ If I 
had only been satisfied with her. Mamma, she 
would have been pretty yet ; for then I would n’t 
have scratched her face all up. I am glad it 
was mine ; but, oh, I wish I had been good and 
not hurt either of the dolls ! ” 

“ So do I, darling,” said Mamma. “ Ruby 
dear, do you think that this will be a lesson that 
you will remember, or must my little girl have 
something still harder before she learns to be 
good ? Dear, if you yield to your naughty temper 
instead of trying to govern it, you may do some- 
thing that you will repent all your life. You 
may injure some of your little playmates, or do 
something else that can never be undone, in a 
moment of passion. Such things have happened, 
and it frightens me to think that my little girl 
may have some dreadful thing to be sorry for all 
her life. You know when you have done wrong 
that I do not punish you because I am angry 
with you, but because I want you to try and 
remember to do better another time. It is 
because I love you so much, and want to have 


240 


ruby’s ups and downs. 


you grow up to be a good woman that I try to help 
you to he good. I think that you have punished 
yourself severely enough this time by spoiling 
your beautiful doll, and by the fear that you had 
ruined Ruthy’s doll. You must tell her all 
about it in the morning, and tell her how sorry 
you are that you meant to spoil her doll. I know 
you are willing now that she should have the 
prettiest doll, and that all your selfish feelings 
are gone.” 

“ I hope they will never come back any more,” 
said Ruby, nestling her head on her mother’s 
shoulder. “ It seems to me as if every time I 
ever got cross and wanted the best things myself, 
I should remember what I did to-night, and how 
dreadfully miserable I was. Mamma, I have told 
you all I can, but you don’t even begin to know 
how sorry I was when I thought that I had 
spoiled Ruthy’s doll. I did n’t mean you to 
know it. I thought every one would think that 
a mouse did it ; but I was so miserable that I 
wanted to have you know and to have you do 
something to me. Papa,” she said, turning 
toward him. 

“Well, darling?” 

“ You will try me once more, won’t you ?” she 
asked. “ I will try to be good, truly and honest 
I will. I do want to have you love me.” 


HOW IT HAPPENED. 


241 


“ I do love you, darling, even when you are 
naughty ; but nothing in all the world would 
make us as happy as to have you try to be good,” 
said her papa, tenderly. “We will forget all 
about the past now, and make a fresh start, won’t 
we, girlie ? ” 

The clock struck eleven as Papa carried Ruby 
up to bed, and with a good-night kiss tucked her 
in bed beside Ruthy. 

“ Go to sleep, now, darling,” he said, and it 
was not very long before Ruby was sleeping as 
sweetly as Ruthy. 

That load had been lifted from her heart, and 
though an hour ago she had thought that she 
could never be happy again as long as she lived, 
yet she was comforted now that she felt herself 
forgiven and loved. “ I do mean to make 
Mamma and Papa happy by being good,” she 
thought, as her eyes closed. 

In the morning, while they were nestled under 
the blankets together. Ruby told Ruthy all about 
what she had done the night before. If her 
beautiful doll had really been injured, I am 
afraid Ruthy might have found it hard to forgive 
Ruby, for she loved her treasure so dearly 
already ; but as long as it was safe, her only feel- 
ing was one of sorrow that Ruby’s doll was 
injured. She did not have any room in her 
16 


242 ruby’s ups and downs. 

heart for unkind feelings toward Ruby, because 
she had intended to injure her doll, and she tried 
to comfort Ruby for the harm that she had done 
to her own doll. 

‘‘ You won’t want to play with it now, will 
you. Ruby ? ” she asked. 

“ It won’t be pretty, and it will always make 
me think about last night ; but its hair is so 
pretty, and its eyes, that I mean to play with 
it,” Ruby answered. ‘‘Oh, Ruthy, how could I 
have been so wicked as to want to spoil your 
doll ! I should n’t think you would love me any 
more.” 

Ruthy wound her arms about Ruby’s neck. 

“ Ruby,” she said earnestly, “ I love you so 
much that you could n’t make me unlove you, 
even if you spoiled everything I had. I should 
have felt most dreadfully if you had scratched 
my dolly, really, for I do love her so, and I never 
could love another dolly so well ; but I would n’t 
stop loving you because of it. If we were really 
own sisters, I could n’t love you any more.” 

“ 1 wish we were, don’t you ? ” said Ruby. 
“Then you would live at my house all the 
time.” 

“ I would n’t like to do that,” said Ruthy. 
“ You know I love your mamma ever so much ; 
but if 1 was her little girl I would n’t be my own 


HOW IT HAPPENED. 


243 


mamma’s little girl, and I would n’t like not to 
have her for my mamma.” 

“ I don’t believe we could manage to be sisters 
very well,” said Ruby, thoughtfully. “ I love 
your mamma too, but my own mamma is so 
sweet, and she is so good to me that I could n’t 
bear to think about being any one else’s little girl. 
I guess it’s just about as nice as being sisters 
to be friends, anyway. Don’t you know some 
sisters don’t seem to care much for each other. 
Nellie and Hattie Page are always quarrelling, 
and don’t ever play together. We have good 
times being friends, and perhaps we would n’t 
have as good if we were really and truly sisters.” 

“ I could n’t care more for you no matter what 
we were,” said Ruthy, cuddling up to Ruby, and 
pulling the blankets up. 

“ Time to get up, girlies,” called Mamma, and 
both little girls jumped out of their warm nest 
and began to get dressed. 

Mamma told Ruby that no one else besides 
Orpah need know the story of the doll, much to 
Ruby’s relief, for she had felt as if she could not 
endure having all the girls at school know how 
naughty she had been. 

Nothing had ever helped Ruby to conquer her 
temper as the sight of her doll’s scratched face 
did, for it was a constant reminder to her of the 


244 ruby's ups and downs. 

wrong-doing it had led her into. She really 
tried with all her might to remember to control 
herself. 

When Mamie Brown first saw the poor 
scratched face, she said, — 

‘‘ My, your doll is uglier than ever now. 
Ruby! I shouldn’t like to play with a doll 
that looked like that.” 

“ She is pretty all but her face,” said Ruby, 
with unusual gentleness. Generally she would 
have flown into one of her fits of ill-temper at 
Mamie’s words ; but now she could not be pro- 
voked into a quarrel or into any dissatisfaction 
with her doll by anything that Mamie could say. 
It was her own fault if her doll was not as pretty 
as Orpah’s, and she could not blame any one else 
for it. 

It was a long fight and a hard one for Ruby 
to learn to control her hasty temper ; but when 
any one really tries as hard as they can, and 
remembers to try, try again,” if they fail once? 
they are bound to succeed, and I think that 
the next time you hear about Ruby you will find 
that she is a better little girl, and one more lov- 
ing as well as lovable. 


THE END. 




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